Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year
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Title: Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year
Author: E. C. Hartwell
Release date: April 12, 2007 [eBook #21046]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21046
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORY HOUR READINGS: SEVENTH YEAR ***
Produced by Joseph R. Hauser, Emmy and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
STORY HOUR READINGS
SEVENTH YEAR
BY
E. C. HARTWELL, M.A., M.PD.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
BUFFALO, NEW YORK
Illustrations by
George Varian, F. Murch, Wilfred Jones
M. M. Jamieson, and others
[Illustration]
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO
BOSTON ATLANTA
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
_All rights reserved_
W. P. II
MADE IN U. S. A.
PREFACE
This reader undertakes to provide desirable material for work in silent
reading without losing sight of the other elements essential in a good
reader for pupils in the seventh grade or in the first year of the
junior high school.
One task before the teacher of Reading in this year is to foster, by
stimulating material, a taste for good reading which it is to be hoped
has at least been partially formed in the preceding grades. The
selections in this volume are made with the purpose of giving the
seventh-grade pupils such virile and enjoyable literature as will make
them desire more of the same kind. The character and fitness of the
material, not the date of its production, have governed the choice of
the editor.
ARRANGEMENT BY GROUPS. There is an obvious advantage in grouping kindred
reading materials in sections under such captions as "Adventure," "From
Great Books," "Our Country," etc. Besides affording some elements of
continuity, the plan offers opportunity for comparison and contrast of
the treatment of similar themes. It also insures a massing of the effect
of the idea for which the section stands. Secondarily, the section
divisions break up the solid text, and because of this the pupils feel
at frequent intervals that they have completed something definite.
The groupings make no pretense to being mutually exclusive. On occasion
a selection may well be transferred to another section. For example,
the Washington and Lincoln stories should be used in the proper season
in the "Our Country" section although it is obvious that they belong in
"Special Days." Teachers should have no hesitation in breaking across
from one section to another when the occasion or the children's interest
seems to warrant.
MECHANICAL FEATURES. Editor and publisher have spared no pains or
expense to make this book attractive to children. The volume is not
cumbersome or unwieldy in size. The length of line is that of the normal
book with which they regularly will come into contact. The type is
clean-cut and legible. Finally, enough white space has been left in the
pages to give the book an "open," attractive appearance. No single item
has so much to do with children's future attitude toward books as the
appearance of their school Readers.
SOCIALIZED WORK. Opportunity for dramatization, committee work, and
other team activity is presented repeatedly throughout this volume.
Wherever the teacher can profitably get the pupils to work in groups she
should take advantage of the cooperative spirit and do so.
CITIZENSHIP. This means more than the passing phase of so-called
Americanization. It means a genuine love of country, a reverence for our
pioneer fathers, a respect for law, order, and truth. This Reader is
rich in patriotic content. It is hoped that the ethical element in the
selections will be found to be forceful as well as pleasing. The book
emphasizes throughout the importance of the individual and social
virtues. If it can help teachers to make clean, upright, and loyal
citizens of our great Republic it will not have been made in vain.
Mastery of the printed page is not the sole end and aim of Reading. It
is hoped that the devices employed in this Reader, as well as the
direction and suggestions in study materials contained in the volume,
may assist in developing a genuine love of good books.
MANUAL. Valuable assistance in dealing with the material in this book is
supplied by the _Teachers' Manual, Story Hour Readings, Seventh and
Eighth Years_. This Manual consists of three parts:
I. An introductory article on the Teaching of Reading, which discusses
Silent Reading (with detailed directions for speed tests), Oral Reading,
Dramatization, Appreciative Reading, Memorizing, Word Study and Use of
the Dictionary, Reading Outside of School, Use of Illustrative Material,
and Correlation.
II. Detailed lesson plans for each selection in _Story Hour Readings
Seventh Year_.
III. Detailed lesson plans for each selection in _Story Hour Readings
Eighth Year_.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In addition to acknowledgments made in connection with material
incorporated in this volume, thanks are due as follows for permissions
to reprint:
To D. Appleton & Company, Publishers, for permission to use "A Battle
with a Whale" from Frank T. Bullen's _The Cruise of the Cachalot_; to
Thomas B. Harned, Literary Executor of Walt Whitman, for permission to
reprint "O Captain! My Captain."
"The Stagecoach," from Mark Twain's _Roughing It_, is used by express
permission of the Estate of Samuel L. Clemens, the Mark Twain Company,
and Harper & Brothers, Publishers.
Selections by Emerson, Hawthorne, Holmes, Longfellow, Amy Lowell, James
Russell Lowell, Sill, Thoreau, and Whittier are used by permission of
and special arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Company, the authorized
publishers of these authors.
Acknowledgment is made to the American Book Company for the use of
selections by James Baldwin, John Esten Cooke, Edward Eggleston, Hélène
Guerber, Joel Chandler Harris, William Dean Howells, James Johonnot,
Orison Swett Marden, W. F. Markwick and W. A. Smith, Frank R. Stockton,
and Maurice Thompson.
CONTENTS
PAGE
A SHEAF OF LEGENDS
Ali Hafed's Quest _Orison Swett Marden_ 13
How Kilhugh Rode to Arthur's Hall _James Baldwin_ 18
The Gift of the White Bear _George Webbe Dasent_ 25
The Story of Iron 31
The Wonderful Artisan _James Baldwin_ 39
Charlemagne and Roland _Hélène A. Guerber_ 46
Keeping the Bridge _Thomas Babington Macaulay_ 50
PIONEER DAYS
The Story of Molly Pitcher _Frank R. Stockton_ 57
King Philip to the White Settlers _Edward Everett_ 60
Pioneer Life in Ohio _William Dean Howells_ 62
Witchcraft _Nathaniel Hawthorne_ 70
Tea Parties in Old New York _Washington Irving_ 70
A School of Long Ago _Edward Eggleston_ 73
French Life in the Northwest _James Baldwin_ 77
A Bear Story _Maurice Thompson_ 82
A Patriot of Georgia _Joel Chandler Harris_ 85
Song of the Pioneers _W. D. Gallagher_ 87
SPECIAL DAYS
Columbus and the Eclipse _James Johonnot_ 91
First Thanksgiving Day Proclamation _George Washington_ 93
Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1905 _Theodore Roosevelt_ 93
Harvest Song _James Montgomery_ 95
The Cratchits' Christmas _Charles Dickens_ 96
The Holiday Spirit _Émile Souvestre_ 101
Christmas in the Pines _Meredith Nicholson_ 106
The New Year's Dinner Party _Charles Lamb_ 108
Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln 111
O Captain! My Captain _Walt Whitman_ 114
Washington's Greatest Battle _Frederick Trever Hill_ 116
John James Audubon _W. F. Markwick and W. A. Smith_ 122
Memorial Day, 1917 _Woodrow Wilson_ 125
ADVENTURE
A Grandstand Seat in the Sky _Howard Mingos_ 129
Prayer for the Pilot _Cecil Roberts_ 137
A Battle with a Whale _Frank T. Bullen_ 138
The Glove and the Lions _Leigh Hunt_ 145
How Buck Won the Bet _Jack London_ 147
The Loss of the Drake _Charlotte M. Yonge_ 151
The Walrus Hunt _Robert M. Ballantyne_ 155
The Rescue 158
Descending the Grand Cañon 162
Night Fishing in the South Seas _Frederick O'Brien_ 164
A Ballad of East and West _Rudyard Kipling_ 168
UNDER THE OPEN SKY
A Night among the Pines _Robert Louis Stevenson_ 177
Autumn on the Farm _John Greenleaf Whittier_ 183
Goldenrod _Elaine Goodale Eastman_ 186
The Palisades _John Masefield_ 188
On the Grasshopper and Cricket _John Keats_ 189
To a Waterfowl _William Cullen Bryant_ 190
A Night in the Tropics _Richard Henry Dana, Jr._ 192
A Winter Ride _Amy Lowell_ 193
The Snowstorm _Ralph Waldo Emerson_ 194
Snow-Bound _John Greenleaf Whittier_ 195
Tom Pinch's Ride _Charles Dickens_ 198
Ode to a Butterfly _Thomas Wentworth Higginson_ 201
In the Desert _A. W. Kinglake_ 203
May is Building her House _Richard Le Gallienne_ 207
The Daffodils _William Wordsworth_ 208
The Falls of Lodore _Robert Southey_ 210
STORIES THAT TEACH
An Adventure in Brotherhood 215
The Prayer Perfect _James Whitcomb Riley_ 217
Get Out or Get in Line _Elbert Hubbard_ 218
John Marshall of Virginia _John Esten Cooke_ 224
Opportunity _Edward Rowland Sill_ 227
Boy Wanted _Dr. Frank Crane_ 228
John Littlejohn _Charles Mackay_ 230
The Discontented Pendulum 232
Two Sides to Every Question 235
If I were a Boy _Washington Gladden_ 237
The Lesson of the Water Mill _Sarah Doudney_ 239
A Motto of Oxford 241
Sailing and Failing _Hamilton W. Mabie_ 242
Use and Abuse of Time _Archer Brown_ 243
Hidden Treasure _Charles Reade_ 245
The Solitary Reaper _William Wordsworth_ 249
IN GOOD HUMOR
The Stagecoach _Mark Twain_ 253
The Chameleon _James Merrick_ 261
The Pickwick Club on Ice _Charles Dickens_ 263
Darius Green and his Flying Machine _John Townsend Trowbridge_ 270
Aunt Doleful's Visit 279
Gradgrind's Idea of Education _Charles Dickens_ 281
The Deacon's Masterpiece, or The Wonderful "One-Hoss Shay"
_Oliver Wendell Holmes_ 286
The Schoolmaster's Ride _Washington Irving_ 291
Signing Petitions 296
IN TIME OF WAR
Great Little Rivers _Frazier Hunt_ 299
The Burial of Sir John Moore _Charles Wolfe_ 302
Lexington and Concord _William Emerson_ 304
Hervé Riel _Robert Browning_ 307
The Song of the Camp _Bayard Taylor_ 313
Cabin Boy and Admiral 315
Little Giffen _Francis O. Ticknor_ 320
Marco Bozzaris _Fitz-Greene Halleck_ 322
San Juan Hill _General John J. Pershing_ 325
Burial of a Soldier in France _Gerald M. Dwyer_ 329
OUR COUNTRY
America for Me _Henry van Dyke_ 333
Warren's Address at the Battle of Bunker Hill _John Pierpont_ 335
What is an American? _Hector Saint Jean de Crèvec[oe]ur_ 336
The Rising of '76 _Thomas Buchanan Read_ 338
Our Own Country _James Montgomery_ 342
Patrick Henry's Speech 343
Abraham Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby 347
The Flower of Liberty _Oliver Wendell Holmes_ 348
True Patriotism _Benjamin Harrison_ 350
America the Beautiful _Katharine Lee Bates_ 352
O Beautiful! My Country! _James Russell Lowell_ 353
The Problems of the Republic _Theodore Roosevelt_ 354
The Meaning of Americanism _Charles Evans Hughes_ 356
What Constitutes a State? _William Jones_ 359
A Patriotic Creed _Edgar A. Guest_ 360
FROM GREAT BOOKS
The Lists at Ashby _Sir Walter Scott_ 363
The Twenty-Third Psalm _The Bible_ 376
Doubting Castle _John Bunyan_ 377
Christmas Eve at Fezziwig's _Charles Dickens_ 384
Jean Valjean Meets the Bishop _Victor Hugo_ 387
A Voyage to Lilliput _Jonathan Swift_ 394
The Struggle in the Arena _Henryk Sienkiewicz_ 405
Polonius's Advice to his Son _William Shakespeare_ 413
Mercy _William Shakespeare_ 414
_A SHEAF OF LEGENDS_
_To every important race of people there has come
down through the ages a fine heritage of story and
song. Usually these tales are largely fiction and
partially fact. They may be songs about heroes;
stories to account for the existence of things;
moral tales; or tales of pure imagination. Whatever
they are, they preserve for us from the past the
thoughts or the deeds of our early ancestors; and
as tales they excite our interest because of their
simplicity and straightforwardness._
[Illustration: ALI HAFED'S QUEST
(_See following page_)]
ALI HAFED'S QUEST
BY ORISON SWETT MARDEN
Long, long ago, in the shadowy past, Ali Hafed dwelt
on the shores of the River Indus, in the ancient land of
the Hindus. His beautiful cottage, set in the midst of
fruit and flower gardens, looked from the mountain side
on which it stood over the broad expanse of the noble river. 5
Rich meadows, waving fields of grain, and the herds and
flocks contentedly grazing on the pasture lands testified
to the thrift and prosperity of Ali Hafed. The love of
a beautiful wife and a large family of light-hearted boys
and girls made his home an earthly paradise. Healthy, 10
wealthy, contented, rich in love and friendship, his cup of
happiness seemed full to overflowing.
Happy and contented was the good Ali Hafed, when
one evening a learned priest of Buddha, journeying along
the banks of the Indus, stopped for rest and refreshment 15
at his home, where all wayfarers were hospitably welcomed
and treated as honored guests.
After the evening meal, the farmer and his family with
the priest in their midst gathered around the fireside, the
chilly mountain air of the late autumn making a fire desirable. 20
The disciple of Buddha entertained his kind hosts
with various legends and myths, and last of all with the
story of the creation.
He told his wondering listeners how in the beginning
the solid earth on which they lived was not solid at all, 25
but a mere bank of fog. "The Great Spirit," said he,
"thrust his finger into the bank of fog and began slowly
describing a circle in its midst, increasing the speed gradually
until the fog went whirling round his finger so rapidly
that it was transformed into a glowing ball of fire. Then
the Creative Spirit hurled the fiery ball from his hand, and 5
it shot through the universe, burning its way through other
banks of fog and condensing them into rain, which fell
in great floods, cooling the surface of the immense ball.
"Flames then bursting from the interior through the
cooled outer crust, threw up the hills and mountain ranges 10
and made the beautiful fertile valleys. In the flood of rain
that followed this fiery upheaval, the substance that
cooled very quickly formed granite, that which cooled
less rapidly became copper, the next in degree cooled down
into silver, and the last became gold. But the most beautiful 15
substance of all, the diamond, was formed by the first
beams of sunlight condensed on the earth's surface.
"A drop of sunlight the size of my thumb," said the
priest, holding up his hand, "is worth more than mines of
gold. With one such drop," he continued, turning to Ali 20
Hafed, "you could buy many farms like yours; with a
handful you could buy a province; and with a mine of
diamonds you could purchase a whole kingdom."
The company parted for the night, and Ali Hafed went
to bed, but not to sleep. All night long he tossed restlessly 25
from side to side, thinking, planning, scheming, how he
could secure some diamonds. The demon of discontent
had entered his soul, and the blessings and advantages
which he possessed in such abundance seemed as by some
malicious magic to have vanished utterly. Although his 30
wife and children loved him as before--although his
farm, his orchards, his flocks and herds, were as real and
prosperous as they had ever been--yet the last words of
the priest, which kept ringing in his ears, turned his content
into vague longings and blinded him to all that had hitherto
made him happy.
Before dawn next morning the farmer, full of his purpose, 5
was astir. Rousing the priest, he eagerly inquired
if he could direct him to a mine of diamonds.
"A mine of diamonds!" echoed the astonished priest.
"What do you, who already have so much to be grateful
for, want with diamonds?" 10
"I wish to be rich and place my children on thrones."
"All you have to do, then," said the Buddhist, "is to
go and search until you find them."
"But where shall I go?" questioned the infatuated man.
"Go anywhere," was the vague reply; "north, south, 15
east, or west--anywhere."
"But how shall I know the place?" asked the farmer.
"When you find a river running over white sands between
high mountain ranges, in these white sands you will find
diamonds. There are many such rivers and many mines 20
of diamonds waiting to be discovered. All you have to do
is start out and go somewhere--" and he waved his hand--"away,
away!"
Ali Hafed's mind was fully made up. "I will no longer,"
he thought, "remain on a wretched farm, toiling day in and 25
day out for a mere subsistence, when acres of diamonds--untold
wealth--may be had by him who is bold enough
to seek them."
He sold his farm for less than half its value. Then,
after putting his young family under the care of a neighbor, 30
he set out on his quest--a quest that was to cover many
years and lands.
With high hopes and the coveted diamond mines beckoning
in the far distance, Ali Hafed began his wanderings.
During the first few weeks his spirits did not flag, nor did
his feet grow weary. On and on he tramped, until he
came to the Mountains of the Moon, beyond the bounds 5
of Arabia. Weeks stretched into months, and the wanderer
often looked regretfully in the direction of his once-happy
home. Still no gleam of waters glinting over white
sands greeted his eyes. But on he went, into Egypt,
through Palestine and other eastern lands, always looking 10
for the treasure he still hoped to find.
At last, after years of fruitless search, during which he
had wandered north and south, east and west, hope left
him. All his money was spent. He was starving and
almost naked, and the diamonds--which had lured him 15
away from all that made life dear--where were they?
Poor Ali Hafed never knew. He died by the wayside,
never dreaming that the wealth for which he had sacrificed
happiness and life might have been his had he remained
at home. 20
* * * * *
"Here is a diamond! here is a diamond! Has Ali Hafed
returned?" shouted an excited voice.
The speaker, no other than our old acquaintance, the
Buddhist priest, was standing in the same room where
years before he had told poor Ali Hafed how the world was 25
made and where diamonds were to be found.
"No, Ali Hafed has not returned," quietly answered his
successor. "Neither is that which you hold in your hand
a diamond. It is but a pretty black pebble I picked up
in my garden." 30
"I tell you," said the priest excitedly, "this is a genuine
diamond. I know one when I see it. Tell me how and
where you found it."
"One day," replied the farmer slowly, "having led my
camel into the garden to drink, I noticed, as he put his
nose into the water, a sparkle of light coming from the 5
white sand at the bottom of the clear stream. Stooping
down, I picked up the black pebble you now hold, guided
to it by that crystal eye in the center, from which the light
flashes so brilliantly."
"Why, thou simple one," cried the priest, "this is no 10
common stone, but a gem of the purest water. Come,
show me where thou didst find it."
Together they fled to the spot where the farmer had
found the "pebble," and turning over the white sands with
eager fingers, they found, to their great delight, other 15
stones even more valuable and beautiful than the first.
Then they extended their search, and, so the Oriental
story goes, "every shovelful of the old farm, as acre after
acre was sifted over, revealed gems with which to decorate
the crowns of emperors and moguls." 20
--_Stories from Life._
1. What is a legend? Distinguish between "legend"
and "story." In what country is the scene of this
legend laid?
2. What is your opinion of Ali Hafed? What happened
to his family?
3. Do we have any Ali Hafeds in this country
to-day? What do we mean by "Get-rich-quick"
schemes? Illustrate.
4. If you were writing this story in these days of
intensive farming, in what form would you have the
"diamonds" come to the farmer?
HOW KILHUGH RODE TO ARTHUR'S HALL
By JAMES BALDWIN
This is a British legend of the days "when good
King Arthur ruled the land." In his castle at
Caerleon, according to legend, Arthur had gathered
the most famous of his knights about the Round
Table; and thither every aspiring knight journeyed
in quest of adventure.
Prince Kilhugh blushed. The love of Olwen, the
daughter of Thistlehair, filled his heart, although he
had not heard her name before. His face flushed with
happiness, and his eyes shone with joy.
"What is the matter, my son?" asked his father. "Why 5
are you so gay and glad?"
"Father," answered Kilhugh, "my stepmother says
that no one but Olwen shall be my wife."
"Well," quoth the king, "I doubt not there will be
trouble enough before that saying comes true. But do 10
not fear, my son. Thou art first cousin to King Arthur.
Who but he should cut thy hair and be thy lord? Go to
him, and crave this of him as a boon."
To Arthur's Hall, therefore, Prince Kilhugh made ready
to go; and his father chose fifty of his bravest knights 15
to go with him, that he might present himself to King
Arthur in a befitting manner.
* * * * *
So gayly the youth rode forth upon a steed of dappled
gray, four summers old, with shell-shaped hoofs and well-knit
limbs. His saddle was of burnished gold, his bridle 20
of shining gold chains. His saddle cloth was of purple
silk, with four golden apples embroidered in the four
corners.
The war horn slung over his shoulder was of ivory; the
sword that hung by his side had a golden hilt and a two-edged 5
blade inlaid with a cross of gold that glittered like
the lightning of heaven. His shoes, from the knee to the
tip of the toe, were embossed with gold worth three hundred
cattle; and his stirrups also were of gold.
In his hand he held two spears, with shafts of silver and 10
heads of tempered steel, and of an edge so sharp as to wound
the wind and cause the blood to flow. Two white-breasted
greyhounds bounded before his steed. Broad collars
set with rubies were on their necks; and to and fro they 15
sprang, like two sea swallows sporting around him. The
blades of reed grass bent not beneath him, so light was
his courser's tread, as he journeyed toward the gate of
Arthur's palace.
* * * * *
The Wide White Hall of Arthur had been built by Rearfort, 20
the architect. Eight and forty were the rafters of
its roof. It would hold all Arthur's companions and his
nobles, his warriors, his retainers, and his guests.
While Kilhugh was riding thither, the tables were set
for the evening meal. The king, with his knights, his
friends, and his attendants, were in their places around 25
the board. And the gate of the outer court was locked.
As the prince rode on, he beheld from afar the walls and
towers of Arthur's Hall. When he drew rein within the
shadow of the vast portal, he saw that the door was closed
and barred, and an armed warrior, stalwart and strong, 30
was standing before it.
"O chieftain," he said, "is it King Arthur's custom
to have a gatekeeper stationed here?"
"It is," replied the warrior sternly; "and if thou dost
not hold thy peace, scant shall be thy welcome. I am
Arthur's porter every New Year's Day, and that is why I 5
am here now."
"And who is the porter at other times?" asked Prince
Kilhugh.
"At other times the gate is guarded by four lusty chieftains
who serve under me," answered the Dusky Hero with 10
the Mighty Grasp. "The names of the first two are
Blandmien and Speedguest. The third is Grumgruff, a
man who never did anyone a favor in his life. The fourth
is Rumbleroll, who goes on his head to save his feet. He
neither holds it up to the sky like a man, nor stretches it 15
out toward the ground like a brute; but he goes tumbling
about the floor, like nothing but a rolling stone."
"Unbar the door and let me in," commanded Kilhugh.
"Nay, that I will not," answered the Dusky Hero with
the Mighty Grasp. 20
"And why not?" cried the prince.
"The knife is in the meat and the drink is in the horn,
and there is revelry in Arthur's Hall; and no man may
enter in save the son of a king from a friendly land. But
never shall it be said that a wayfarer was turned harshly 25
away from Arthur's door. Food enough for thee and thy
fifty men shall be prepared; collops shall be cooked and
peppered for all. In the stables there is fodder for thy
horses and food in plenty for thy dogs. And thou shalt
fare as well in the guest chamber as in the hall; only be 30
content, and disturb not the king and his knights at the
table."
"Nay, I will have nothing of all this," said young Kilhugh.
"If thou wilt open the door, well and good. But
if not, I will bring dishonor upon Arthur and shame upon
thee. Here, on the spot where I stand, I will shout thrice
and make the welkin ring. Sounds more deadly than 5
those three shouts have never been heard in this land.
They shall resound from Land's End to Cold Blast Ridge
in Ireland, and turn the hearts of youths and maidens
cold as stone. Matrons shall grow wan and weakly and
many a mother's child shall die of fright--so dreadful 10
will be my voice."
The Dusky Hero with the Mighty Grasp stood firm,
although his heart misgave him. "No clamor that thou
canst make," said he, "will ever admit thee here against
King Arthur's wishes. However, I will go and tell him 15
thou art here."
Well might he be perturbed by Kilhugh's threat. For
he remembered what had once happened in the days of
King Lud, when all Britain had been shaken by a fearful
shriek. At the sound of it, men had grown pale and feeble, 20
women listless and sad, and youths and maidens forlorn
and woebegone. Beasts deserted their young ones, birds
left their nestlings, trees cast off their fruit, the earth
yielded no harvest.
* * * * *
Pondering upon these things, the Dusky Hero with the 25
Mighty Grasp strode into the hall. King Arthur saw him
and called out, "Hast thou come with tidings from the
door?"
The Dusky Hero bowed, and answered in stately phrase,
becoming a knight of the Table Round: 30
"Half of my life is past, noble king, and half of thine.
I have been with thee in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and in
the Island of Corsica. I was thy companion when thou
didst spread the terror of the sword from Scandinavia to
Spain. I fought by thy side in the Battle of Shades, when
we brought away twelve hostages from the Dim Land under 5
the Sea. I have been in Jerusalem and in Castle Covert-and-Clearing,
built all of dead men's bones. I have been
in Turning Castle, and in the Castle of Riches; and there
thou knowest we saw nine kings of nations, all comely men
of noble mien. Yet, I protest and declare that I never 10
before saw a youth so handsome and dignified as that one
who is now sitting astride his horse and waiting outside
the door of this hall."
Then cried the king, "Thou didst walk hither to tell me
of him; now hie thee back to him, running at full speed. 15
Invite him to come in; and let every man who sees the light,
and every man who blinks the eye, stand ready to do him
honor."
* * * * *
The Dusky Hero with the Mighty Grasp returned to
the great door. He drew back bolt and bar, and set it 20
wide open before the prince and his train. The men at
arms dismounted at the horse block in the courtyard, but
Kilhugh still sat upon his steed and rode into the Hall.
"Hail to thee, King Arthur!" he cried. "I greet thee
and thy guests and thy companions and thy warriors. 25
My greeting is to the lowest as well as to the highest of all
that have a seat within this Hall. May thy name, King
Arthur, and thy fame and thy renown be forever held in
glorious memory throughout the length and the breadth
of this land!" 30
"Hail to thee, noble youth!" returned Arthur. "Thou
art right welcome. Here is a place for thee between two of
my knights. Sit down, and my minstrels will play for thee."
But Kilhugh made answer: "I have not come hither,
sire, to eat and drink, but to crave of thee a boon. If thou
wilt grant it me, I will do thee such service as thou mayest 5
command; and I will carry the praise of thy bounty and
thy power into every land. But if thou dost refuse, I will
spread ill reports of thee to the four quarters of the world."
Then King Arthur was greatly pleased, and he said:
"Ask thy boon, young chieftain. Thou shalt have whatever 10
thy tongue may name, as far as the wind dries and the
rain moistens and the sun revolves and the sea encircles
and the earth extends. Thou shalt have anything that is
mine, except my ship that bears me over the sea, and
the mantle in which I can walk unseen, and my good sword, 15
and my keen lance, and my shield, and my gleaming dagger,
and Guinevere my wife. Ask what thou wilt."
"My request is, that thou wilt cut my hair," answered
Kilhugh.
"Thy request is granted," quoth the king. 20
Then Arthur called for a golden comb and a pair of
scissors with silver loops. And he combed the hair of the
prince, as he sat upon his steed, and cut it front and back.
"Now tell me thy name," he said.
"My name is Kilhugh," replied the prince. "My father 25
is Prince Kilith, and my mother was a sister of the fair
Ygerne."
"Then we are cousins," cried Arthur, "and I give thee
leave to ask another boon. Ask what thou wilt."
"Promise me, for the honor of thy kingdom, to grant 30
my boon," said Kilhugh.
"I promise."
"Then do I crave of thee to obtain for me Olwen, the
daughter of Thistlehair, chief of the Giants, to be my wife. . . .
For the sake of the daughters of the Island of the
Mighty, I crave thy help to seek this maiden. For the
sake of Guinevere and of her sister; for the sake of Lynette 5
of the Magic Ring; for the sake of Cordelia the daughter
of King Lear, the loveliest maiden in this island; and for
the sake of Iseult la Belle, and of Elaine, and of Angarad
of the Golden Hand--for the sake of these and many
others, I crave thy help." 10
Then said Arthur, "O prince and cousin, I have never
heard of this maiden, Olwen; I have never heard of her
kindred. But I will send messengers to seek her; only
grant them time to find her and return."
"To-day is New Year's Day," answered the prince. 15
"I give them from this hour till the last day of the year."
And having said these words, he dismounted from his
steed and went and sat by King Arthur's side in the midst
of the heroes of the Table Round.
--_Fifty Famous Rides and Riders._
1. This is a capital story in its representation of
the knight in olden days. Do you think Kilhugh
would be an agreeable fellow to have in your class?
Give reasons for your answer.
2. What other legends of Arthur do you know?
3. The Arthurian tales have long furnished English
writers with themes for stories and songs.
Tennyson's _Idylls of the King_, for example, is a
group of narrative poems describing the adventures
of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
THE GIFT OF THE WHITE BEAR
BY GEORGE WEBBE DASENT
A long time ago there lived in Iceland a man whose
name was Audun. His means were small, but everybody
knew of his goodness. In order to see the world and to
add to his wealth, he once sailed to Greenland with a sea
captain named Thorir. Before he went, he gave everything 5
that he had to his mother--and this was not much.
In Greenland Audun bought a white bear that was well
tamed and trained--and it was the greatest treasure of
a bear that had ever been thought of. The next summer
Thorir sailed back to Norway, and Audun went with him, 10
taking the bear.
Now Audun had made up his mind to give the bear to
Sweyn, the king of Denmark; and so, leaving Thorir, he
made his way south to the Cattegat. While he was waiting
for some vessel that would carry him across the channel, it 15
so happened that Harold, the king of Norway, came also to
the same place.
Of course some one soon told King Harold about the
Icelander who had lately come from Greenland with a
wonderful white bear, and he at once sent for Audun. 20
"I have heard about your white bear," said Harold,
"and I wish to buy it."
"I will not sell it," answered Audun.
"But I will pay you twice as much as you gave for it,"
said the king. 25
"Not for any price will I sell it," said the Icelander.
"Then will you give it to me?" asked the king.
"No, my lord, I will not do that," answered Audun.
"What, then, will you do with it?" asked the king.
Audun answered, "I have made up my mind to take it
to Denmark and give it to King Sweyn, for he is also the 5
king of my own country."
Then Harold spoke up sharply: "Don't you know, my
fellow, that there is war between Norway and Denmark,
and between myself and your King Sweyn? Don't you
know that I have the power to prevent you from ever 10
getting to his land?"
Audun answered, "I know that you have the power, and
that all rests with you. But I will consent to nothing
save to do as I have told you."
The king sat in thought for a moment and then said, 15
"Well, I see no reason why you should not do as you please
in this matter. But promise me that when you come this
way again, you will tell me how King Sweyn rewarded you
for the beast."
"I give you my word to do that," answered Audun. 20
Then, leading the bear behind him, he went away. But
it was a long time before he could find any means to cross
over into Denmark, and when at last he set foot upon the
shores of that country he had not even a penny with which
to buy food. Both he and the bear were starving, and it 25
was a long way to the place where the king was staying.
In his distress, Audun went to a rich man named Auki
and begged for food for himself and his bear.
"What are you going to do with the beast?" asked
Auki. 30
"Give him to King Sweyn," answered the Icelander.
"And how much do you expect to receive for him?"
"Only so much as the king in his bounty wishes to give."
Then the rich man answered, "If you will give me one
half of the bear, I will feed you both."
And to this Audun made agreement, for he was almost
dead of hunger and so was the bear. 5
Then the Icelander and the rich man went on, leading
the bear, until they came to King Sweyn's house. The
king greeted Auki in a friendly manner, and turning to
Audun, said, "You are a stranger to me. Pray tell me
whence you have come." 10
"I am from Iceland," answered Audun, "and have but
lately been to Greenland. My errand here is to give you
a white bear which I bought in Greenland. But my
necessities have obliged me to part with one half of the
beast, and I can only beg of you to accept the other half." 15
And then, after much questioning, he told the whole story.
The king turned to the rich man, who was standing by,
and asked, "Is this true, Auki?"
"It is, my lord," answered Auki.
Then the king was angry and sent the rich man home, 20
empty-handed and sorrowful. But he said to the Icelander,
"I thank you for the rare and wonderful gift which you
have brought me. Stay here in my house for a while."
So Audun dwelt for some time with the king's household,
and no man was more faithful, more honest, or more 25
brave than he. Many deeds of courage did he perform,
and many and worthy were his services. All men liked
him, and the king was most gracious to him; but his heart
turned always toward Iceland and his poor mother whom
he had left behind. 30
One day when the springtide was drawing on, the king
spoke to the Icelander and said: "Audun, I have never
yet given you anything for the white bear. I have a mind
to make you one of my chief officers, so that you shall
always be near me."
And Audun answered, "I thank you, my lord, with all
my heart. But far away over the northern seas there is a 5
poor woman who is my mother. I fear that by this time
she is in want; for although I left her all that I had, it
was not much. I cannot bear to sit here in ease and honor
while she has not enough to keep hunger away. And so I
have set my heart on sailing for Iceland." 10
"There speaks a good man and true," cried the king.
"You shall do as you most desire; but wait a little while
till a ship is ready."
So Audun waited. And one day when spring was at its
best, King Sweyn went with him down to the waterside, 15
where many men were busy freighting ships for foreign
lands. They walked till they came to a merchant vessel
of fine size.
"What do you think of this ship, Audun?" asked the
king. 20
"She is fine enough, surely," answered the Icelander.
"Well," said the king, "I will now repay you for the
bear. This ship and all the goods on board of it are
yours."
Audun thanked the king as well as he could. And when 25
the day came for the ship to sail, the two walked down to
the waterside again.
"I have heard much of the perils of the sea," said King
Sweyn, "and if this fair ship should be wrecked, all your
goods will doubtless be lost and little will be left to show 30
that you have met the king of Denmark."
As he said this, the king put into Audun's hand a
leather bag, full of silver, saying, "Take this, and even if
your ship goes down, you will not be entirely penniless."
Audun was so filled with gratitude that he could not
speak. But the king had still another surprise for him.
He drew a ring of gold, very costly, from his arm and put 5
it upon the arm of the Icelander.
"Take this," he said. "Even though you should lose
ship and goods and money, you will still not be penniless,
for the gold will be around your arm."
What could Audun do? What could he say? 10
The king shook his hand at parting, and said: "I have
this to ask of you: Keep the gold ring on your arm and
do not part with it on any account, unless it be to some
great man to whom you feel yourself bound to give your
best treasure in return for a great favor and much goodness. 15
And now, farewell, and may good luck follow your voyage."
Then Audun, in his fair, rich ship, put to sea.
On his way to Iceland he stopped for a time in a haven
of Norway, where he heard that King Harold was holding
his court. He was desirous of seeing the king, as he had 20
given his word.
King Harold remembered him well and received him
kindly.
"Sit here and tell me how it fared with you in Denmark,"
he said. 25
Audun told him a part of his story.
"But how did King Sweyn repay you for the white bear?"
asked Harold.
"In this wise, my lord," answered Audun: "He took it
and thanked me when I offered it." 30
"I would have repaid you as well myself," said Harold,
"What more did he give you?"
"He asked me to abide in his house, and he gave me his
friendship. He offered me still greater honor if I would
stay longer with him."
"That was good; but I would have done as much.
He must have given you something more." 5
"Yes. He gave me a merchant ship filled with rich
goods for trade in northern ports."
"That was a noble gift," said the king; "but I would
have equaled it. Did he give you anything more?"
Audun answered, "Yes, he gave me a leather bag full of 10
silver; for he said that if the ship and her cargo should be
lost in the sea, yet would I not go penniless."
"That was nobly thought of," said Harold; "and it is
more than I would have done. But what else did he give?"
Then Audun took the gold ring from his arm and put 15
it upon King Harold's arm, saying, "He gave me as a farewell
gift this priceless ring; and he bade me never to part
with it save to some great man to whom I felt myself indebted
for his goodness. And now I have found that man.
For it was in your power to take away not only the bear 20
but my life also, and yet you allowed me to go in peace to
Denmark."
The king looked at the ring and then at the man; for
both were of very great worth. "I thank you, Audun," he
said; and they had much pleasant talk before they parted. 25
And when Audun at length came with his ship to Iceland,
everybody welcomed him as the luckiest man in the world; and
he made his poor mother comfortable for the rest of her life.
1. What was the noblest thing Audun did? Why do you
admire the man? What in the story indicates its old
age?
2. Sketch the relative locations of Iceland,
Norway, and Denmark, showing a possible return
course for Audun.
THE STORY OF IRON
This is one of the tales from the _Kalevala_ ("Home
of the Heroes"), a group of legends from Finland.
These tales were sung in verse very similar to that
which Longfellow used in _Hiawatha_. The following
is a prose translation of one of the popular myths.
The first of all mothers was Air, and she had three
daughters. Of these three maidens there is much
to be said. They were as lovely as the rainbow after a
storm; they were as fair as the full moon shining above
the mountains. They walked with noiseless feet among 5
the clouds and showered gifts upon the earth. They sent
the refreshing rain, the silent dew, and the nipping frost,
each in its season. They gave life to the fields, and strength
to the mountains, and grandeur to the sea. And because
of their bounty the earth was glad and the stars twinkled 10
for joy.
"What more can we do to make the land fit for men to
dwell in? What other gift have we to bestow?" asked the
eldest of the sisters.
And the youngest said, "Let us send down iron--iron 15
of which tools may be made, iron of which sharp weapons
may be shaped. For without tools man will not be able
to plow, to reap, or to build; and without weapons he
cannot defend himself against the savage beasts of the
forest." 20
So when the sun was about going down, the sisters
went forth in trailing robes of purple and crimson and gold;
and in their hands they bore mighty vessels of foaming milk.
The eldest sprinkled red milk in the brooks and marshes
and along the banks of the rivers. The middle one scattered
white milk on the wooded hills and the stony mountains.
The youngest showered blue milk in the valleys
and by the gray seashore. And, on the morrow, where 5
the red milk had been sprinkled, red and brittle ore of
iron flecked the ground; where the white milk had been
scattered, powdery ore of a yellow hue abounded; and
where the blue milk had been showered, flaky masses of
crude iron, tough and dark, lay hidden beneath the soil. 10
Thus came Iron into the world--Iron, the youngest
of three brothers. Next older than he was Fire, a raging,
dangerous fellow when free, but loving and faithful when
held in bonds. Older still was Water, terrible in strength
but, when not aroused, as gentle as a mother's caress. 15
Years upon years went by, and at length one day Iron
set out to visit his brothers. He found Water at home in
the deep sea, and by him he was welcomed kindly enough.
But when he climbed a mountain to see his second brother
he had quite another reception. Fire was in a raging 20
mood. The terrible fellow leaped and roared and stretched
out his long red fingers as though he would devour his
visitor.
Iron was so terrified that he turned and fled down the
steep slopes, never stopping nor pausing to look behind. 25
He ran on, hiding in clefts and chasms, creeping under
rocks, and lurking in the dry beds of mountain torrents.
When by and by he reached the level plain, he glanced
backward. The hills and the whole mountain top were
aflame. 30
Wild with terror he hurried on, hiding himself in the
woods and under the roots of trees and resting at last in
reedy marshes where swans build their nests and wild geese
rear their young.
For ages and ages--nobody knows how many--Iron
lay hidden in bogs and forests and lonely caverns. Fear
of his raging brother made him lurk in lonely places, made 5
him cover up his face. Lazy bears went ambling through
the rocky places; wolves rushed madly over the oozy
marshlands; and timid deer ran and leaped among the
trees. In time the hiding places of Iron were uncovered.
Where the paws of bears had plodded often, where the feet 10
of wolves had pattered, where the sharp hoofs of deer had
trodden, there the timid metal, red, gray, yellow, black,
peeped shyly out.
At length into that same land there came a skillful Smith.
He carried a hammer of stone in one hand and tongs of 15
bronze in the other, and a song of peace was upon his lips.
On a green hillock, where the south wind blew, he built
him a smithy, and in it he placed the tools of his craft.
His anvil was a block of gray granite; his forge was carefully
built of sand and clay; his bellows was made of the 20
skins of mountain goats sewn together.
The Smith heaped live coals in his forge and blew with
his bellows until the flames leaped up, roaring and sparkling,
and the smoke rose in dense clouds over the roof of the
smithy. "This forge will do its work well," he said. Then 25
he checked the bellows and smothered the flames and raked
ashes upon the fire until the red coals slumbered unseen at
the mouth of the forge.
Out into the forest the Smith wandered. Closely he
scanned the hillsides and the boggy thickets and the paths 30
among the trees. And there, where the bears had trailed
and the wolves had rushed and the deer had left their
footprints, he found ruddy Iron, dusky Iron, yellow ore
of Iron, peeping, trembling, hiding. The heart of the
Smith was glad. His eyes danced merrily, and he sang a
song of magic to the timid metal:
"Iron, Iron, hearken while I call you! 5
Let no false and foolish fears appal you,
Come from out the crevices that hide you,
Leave the worthless stones that are beside you,
Leave the earth that lies around, above you,
And come with me, for I do dearly love you." 10
Iron moved not, but timidly answered, "I dare not
leave my hiding places; for Fire, my brother, waits to
devour me. He is strong and fierce. He has no pity."
The Smith shook his head and made reply, still singing:
"No! your brother does not wish to harm you-- 15
Willingly he never would alarm you.
With his glowing arms he would caress you,
Make you pure and with his kisses bless you.
So come with me, my smithy waits to greet you;
In my forge your brother waits to meet you-- 20
Waits to throw his loving arms around you,
Glad indeed that thus, at last, he's found you."
These words made Iron feel much braver; and they
were spoken in tones so sweet and persuasive that he was
almost minded to obey without another word. But he asked, 25
"Why should I leave these places where I have rested so
long? What will become of me after I have made friends
with Fire?"
Again the Smith replied to the query of Iron in a magic
song:
"Come with me, for kindly we will treat you.
On my anvil gently will I beat you;
With my tongs, then, deftly will I hold you; 5
With my hammer I will shape and mold you
Into forms so fair that all will prize you,
Forms so rare that none will e'er despise you:
Axes, knives (so men will wish to use you),
Needles, pins (so women, too, will choose you). 10
Come with me, your brother will not harm you,
Come with me, my smithy sure will charm you."
Hearing this, Iron came out of his lurking places and
without more ado bashfully followed the cunning Smith.
But no sooner was he in the smithy than he felt himself 15
a prisoner. The tongs of bronze gripped him and thrust
him into the forge. The bellows roared, the Smith shouted,
and Fire leaped joyfully out of the ashes and threw his
arms around his helpless younger brother. And bashful,
bashful Iron turned first red and then white and finally 20
became as soft as dough and as radiant as the sun.
Then the tongs of bronze drew him forth from the flames,
and twirled him in the air, and threw him upon the anvil;
and the hammer of stone beat him fiercely again and again
until he shrieked with pain. 25
"Oh, spare me! spare me!" he cried. "Do not deal so
roughly with me. Let me go back to my lonely hiding
places and lie there in peace as in the days of old."
But the tongs pinched him worse than before, and the
hammer beat him still harder, and the Smith answered: 30
"Not so, not so! Be not so cowardly. We do not hurt
you; you are only frightened. Be brave and I will shape
you into things of great use to men. Be brave and you
shall rule the world."
Then in spite of Iron's piteous cries, he kept on pounding
and twisting and turning and shaping the helpless metal 5
until at length it was changed into many forms of use and
beauty--rings, chains, axes, knives, cups, and curious
tools. But it was so soft, after being thus heated and
beaten, that the edges of the tools were quickly dulled.
Try as he might, the Smith did not know how to give the 10
metal a harder temper.
One day a honeybee strolled that way. It buzzed
around the smithy and then lit on a clover blossom by the
door.
"O bee," cried the busy Smith, "you are a cunning 15
little bird, and you know some things better than I know
them. Come now, and help me temper this soft metal.
Bring me a drop of your honey; bring the sweet liquor
which you suck from the meadow flower; bring the magic
dew of the wildwood. Give me all such things that I may 20
make a mixture to harden Iron."
The bee answered not--it was too busy with its own
affairs. It gathered what honey it could from the blossom
and then flew swiftly away.
Under the eaves above the smithy door an idler was 25
sitting--a mischief-making hornet who heard every word
that the Smith said.
"I will help him make a mixture," this wicked insect
muttered. "I will help him to give Iron another temper."
Forthwith he flew to the thorny thickets and the miry 30
bogs and the fever-breeding marshes, to gather what evils
he might. Soon he returned with an arm load--the poison
of spiders, the venom of serpents, the miasmata of swamps,
the juice of the deadly nightshade. All these he cast into
the tub of water wherein the Smith was vainly trying to
temper Iron.
The Smith did not see him, but he heard him buzzing 5
and supposed it was the honeybee with sweets from the
meadow flowers.
"Thank you, pretty little bird," he said. "Now I hope
we shall have a better metal. I hope we shall make edges
that will cut and not be dulled so easily." 10
Thereupon he drew a bar of the metal, white hot, from
the forge. He held it, hissing and screeching, under the
water into which the poisons had been poured. Little
thought he of the evil that was there. He heard the hornet
humming and laughing under the eaves. 15
"Tiny honeybee," he said, "you have brought me much
sweetness. Iron tempered with your honey will be sweet
although sharp. Nothing shall be wrought of it that is
not beautiful and helpful and kind."
He drew the metal from the tub. He thrust it back 20
among the red coals. He plied the bellows and the flames
leaped up. Then, when the metal was glowing again, he
laid it on the anvil and beat it with strong, swift strokes;
and as he worked he sang:
"Ding! Ding! Ding-a-ling, ding! 25
Of Iron, sharp Iron, strong Iron, I sing,
Of Iron my servant, of Iron my king--
Ding! Ding-a-ling, ding!"
Forthwith Iron leaped up, angry and biting and fierce.
He was not a soft and ductile metal as before, but Iron 30
hardened into tough blue steel. Showers of sparks flew
from him, snapping, burning, threatening; and from among
them sprang swords and spears and battle-axes, and daggers
keen and pointed. Out of the smithy and out through
the great world these cruel weapons raced, slashing and
clashing, thrusting and cutting, raging and killing, and 5
carrying madness among men.
The wicked hornet, idling under the eaves, rejoiced at
the mischief he had wrought. But the Smith was filled
with grief, and the music of his anvil became a jangling
discord. 10
"Oh, Iron," he cried, "it was not for this that I caused
you to leave your hiding places in the hills and bogs! The
three sisters intended that you should be a blessing to
mankind; but now I greatly fear that you will become a
curse." 15
At that moment the honeybee, laden with the sweets of
field and wood, came buzzing into the smithy. It whispered
hopefully into the ear of the Smith: "Wait until
my gifts have done their work."
--Retold from the _Kalevala_.
1. Find on a map the country from which this legend
comes.
2. According to this story, where did iron come
from? Why was it fearful of fire? Who finally
enticed it into the fire's embrace?
3. Why did the smith cease to be happy? What did
the honeybee have in mind in the last sentence?
Show how the honeybee's prophecy has come true, by
naming the peaceful uses of iron.
4. A good description of an ancient forge is given.
Of what did it consist? How is iron handled to-day
in modern iron foundries and steel mills?
THE WONDERFUL ARTISAN
BY JAMES BALDWIN
There are enough Greek legends to fill several
volumes. They relate the doings of the gods and
heroes of ancient Greece, and endeavor to account
for the origin of plants and animals and the
founding of cities. This story no doubt contains
many facts but it is chiefly fiction.
While Athens was still only a small city there lived
within its walls a man named Dædalus (d[)e]d´a-l[)u]s),
who was the most skillful worker in wood and stone and
metal that had ever been known. It was he who taught
the people how to build better houses and how to hang 5
their doors on hinges and how to support the roofs with
pillars and posts. He was the first to fasten things together
with glue; he invented the plumb line and the
auger; and he showed seamen how to put up masts in their
ships and how to rig the sails to them with ropes. He 10
built a stone palace for Ægeus, the young king of Athens,
and beautified the Temple of Athena which stood on the
great rocky hill in the middle of the city.
Dædalus had a nephew named Perdix, whom he had
taken when a boy to teach the trade of builder. But 15
Perdix was a very apt learner and soon surpassed his master
in the knowledge of many things. His eyes were ever
open to see what was going on about him, and he learned
the lore of the fields and the woods. Walking one day by
the sea he picked up the backbone of a great fish, and from 20
it he invented the saw. Seeing how a certain bird carved
holes in the trunks of trees, he learned how to make and use
the chisel. Then he invented the wheel which potters
use in molding clay; and he made of a forked stick the
first pair of compasses for drawing circles; and he studied
out many other curious and useful things.
Dædalus was not pleased when he saw that the lad was 5
so apt and wise, so ready to learn, and so eager to do.
"If he keeps on in this way," he murmured, "he will
be a greater man than I; his name will be remembered
and mine will be forgotten."
Day after day, while at his work, Dædalus pondered over 10
this matter, and soon his heart was filled with hatred
towards young Perdix. One morning when the two were
putting up an ornament on the outer wall of Athena's
temple, Dædalus bade his nephew go out on a narrow
scaffold which hung high over the edge of the rocky cliff 15
whereon the temple stood. Then when the lad obeyed,
it was easy enough, with a blow of a hammer, to knock
the scaffold from its fastenings.
Poor Perdix fell headlong through the air, and he would
have been dashed in pieces upon the stones at the foot of 20
the cliff had not kind Athena seen him and taken pity
upon him. While he was yet whirling through mid-air
she changed him into a partridge, and he flitted away to
the hills to live forever in the woods and fields which he
loved so well. And to this day, when summer breezes 25
blow and the wild flowers bloom in meadow and glade,
the voice of Perdix may still sometimes be heard calling
to his mate from among the grass and reeds or amid the
leafy underwoods.
* * * * *
As for Dædalus, when the people of Athens heard of his 30
dastardly deed they were filled with grief and rage--grief
for young Perdix, whom all had learned to love; rage
towards the wicked uncle who loved only himself. At first
they were for punishing Dædalus with the death which
he so richly deserved, but when they remembered what he
had done to make their homes pleasanter and their lives 5
easier they allowed him to live; and yet they drove him
out of Athens and bade him never return.
There was a ship in the harbor just ready to start on a
voyage across the sea, and in it Dædalus embarked with
all his precious tools and his young son Icarus ([)i]k´à-r[)u]s). 10
Day after day the little vessel sailed slowly southward,
keeping the shore of the mainland always upon the right.
It passed Tr[oe]zen and the rocky coast of Argos and then
struck boldly out across the sea.
At last the famous Island of Crete was reached, and 15
there Dædalus landed and made himself known; and the
King of Crete, who had already heard of his wondrous
skill, welcomed him to his kingdom, and gave him a home
in his palace, and promised that he should be rewarded
with great riches and honor if he would but stay and practice 20
his craft there as he had done in Athens.
Now the name of the King of Crete was Minos. His
grandfather, whose name was also Minos, was the son of
Europa, a young princess whom a white bull, it was said,
had brought on his back across the sea from distant Asia. 25
This elder Minos had been accounted the wisest of men--so
wise, indeed, that Jupiter chose him to be one of the
judges of the Lower World. The younger Minos was
almost as wise as his grandfather; and he was brave and
farseeing and skilled as a ruler of men. He had made all 30
the islands subject to his kingdom, and his ships sailed
into every part of the world and brought back to Crete
the riches of foreign lands. So it was not hard for him to
persuade Dædalus to make his home with him and be the
chief of his artisans.
And Dædalus built for King Minos a most wonderful
palace with floors of marble and pillars of granite; and 5
in the palace he set up golden statues which had tongues
and could talk; and for splendor and beauty there was
no other building in all the wide earth that could be compared
with it.
There lived in those days among the hills of Crete a 10
terrible monster called the Minotaur (m[)i]n´[=o]-tôr), the like
of which has never been seen from that time until now.
This creature, it was said, had the body of a man but the
face and head of a wild bull and the fierce nature of a
mountain lion. The people of Crete would not have killed 15
him if they could; for they thought that the Mighty Folk
who lived with Jupiter on the mountain top had sent him
among them and that these beings would be angry if anyone
should take his life. He was the pest and terror of
all the land. Where he was least expected, there he was 20
sure to be; and almost every day some man, woman, or
child was caught and devoured by him.
"You have done so many wonderful things," said the
king to Dædalus, "can you not do something to rid the
land of this Minotaur?" 25
"Shall I kill him?" asked Dædalus.
"Ah, no!" said the king. "That would only bring
greater misfortune upon us."
"I will build a house for him then," said Dædalus, "and
you can keep him in it as a prisoner." 30
"But he may pine away and die if he is penned up in
prison," said the king.
"He shall have plenty of room to roam about," said
Dædalus; "and if you will only now and then feed one of
your enemies to him, I promise you that he shall live and
thrive."
So the wonderful artisan brought together his workmen, 5
and they built a marvelous house with so many rooms in
it and so many winding ways that no one who went far
into it could ever find his way out again; and Dædalus
called it the Labyrinth and cunningly persuaded the
Minotaur to go inside it. The monster soon lost his way 10
among the winding passages, but the sound of his terrible
bellowings could be heard day and night as he wandered
back and forth vainly trying to find some place to escape.
* * * * *
Not long after this it happened that Dædalus was guilty
of a deed which angered the king very greatly; and had 15
not Minos wished him to build other buildings for him, he
would have put him to death and served him right.
"Hitherto," said the king, "I have honored you for your
skill and rewarded you for your labor. But now you shall
be my slave and shall serve me without hire and without 20
any word of praise."
Then he gave orders to the guards at the city gates that
they should not let Dædalus pass out at any time, and he
set soldiers to watch the ships that were in port so that
he could not escape by sea. But although the wonderful 25
artisan was thus held as a prisoner, he did not build any
more buildings for King Minos; he spent his time in planning
how he might regain his freedom.
"All my inventions," he said to his son Icarus, "have
hitherto been made to please other people; now I will 30
invent something to please myself."
So through all the day he pretended to be planning some
great work for the king, but every night he locked himself
up in his chamber and wrought secretly by candlelight.
By and by he had made for himself a pair of strong wings,
and for Icarus another pair of smaller ones; and then, 5
one midnight, when everybody was asleep, the two went
out to see if they could fly. They fastened the wings
to their shoulders with wax, and then sprang up into the
air. They could not fly very far at first, but they did so
well that they felt sure of doing much better in time. 10
The next night Dædalus made some changes in the wings.
He put on an extra strap or two; he took out a feather
from one wing and put a new feather into another; and
then he and Icarus went out into the moonlight to try
them again. They did finely this time. They flew up to 15
the top of the king's palace, and then they sailed away over
the walls of the city and alighted on the top of a hill. But
they were not ready to undertake a long journey yet;
and so just before daybreak, they flew back home. Every
fair night after that they practiced with their wings, and 20
at the end of a month they felt as safe in the air as on the
ground and could skim over the hilltops like birds.
Early one morning, before King Minos had risen from
his bed, they fastened on their wings, sprang into the air,
and flew out of the city. Once fairly away from the island 25
they turned towards the west, for Dædalus had heard of
an island named Sicily which lay hundreds of miles away,
and he had made up his mind to seek a new home there.
All went well for a time, and the two bold flyers sped
swiftly over the sea, skimming along only a little above 30
the waves, and helped on their way by the brisk east wind.
Towards noon the sun shone very warm, and Dædalus
called out to the boy, who was a little behind him, and told
him to keep his wings cool and not fly too high. But the
boy was proud of his skill in flying, and as he looked up at
the sun he thought how nice it would be to soar like it
high above the clouds in the blue depths of the sky. 5
"At any rate," said he to himself, "I will go up a little
higher. Perhaps I can see the horses which draw the sun
car, and perhaps I shall catch sight of their driver, the
mighty sun master himself."
So he flew up higher and higher, but his father, who was 10
in front, did not see him. Pretty soon, however, the heat
of the sun began to melt the wax with which the boy's
wings were fastened. He felt himself sinking through the
air; the wings had become loosened from his shoulders.
He screamed to his father, but it was too late. Dædalus 15
turned just in time to see Icarus fall headlong into the
waves. The water was very deep there, and the skill of
the wonderful artisan could not save his child. He could
only look with sorrowing eyes at the unpitying sea, and
fly on alone to distant Sicily. There, men say, he lived for 20
many years, but he never did any great work nor built
anything half so marvelous as the Labyrinth of Crete.
And the sea in which poor Icarus was drowned was called
forever afterward by his name, the Icarian Sea.
--_Old Greek Stories._
1. Dædalus's adventures can be divided into three
sections. Tell what happened in each of the three
episodes.
2. For other interesting Greek legends read
Baldwin's _Old Greek Stories_ or Guerber's _Myths
of Ancient Greece and Rome_.
CHARLEMAGNE AND ROLAND
BY HÉLÈNE A. GUERBER
A series of legends centers about the great emperor
of France, Charlemagne (shar´l[=e]-m[=a]n), and his
nephew Roland. Charlemagne's sister Bertha had
married an obscure knight, Milon, and had thus
incurred the anger of her brother. The following
story suggests the reconciliation of the two
through the forwardness of Master Roland. Roland
came to be known as the greatest knight of
continental Europe in the Middle Ages.
Read the selection with a view to understanding the
characters of the two chief personages.
Numerous stories are told of the way in which
Roland first attracted the attention of the great
emperor, his uncle. Of these the most popular is that
which relates how Milon, attempting to ford a stream, had
been carried away and drowned, while his poor half-famished 5
wife at home was thus left to perish of hunger. Seeing
the signs of such acute distress around him, the child went
boldly to the banqueting hall near by, where Charlemagne
and his lords were feasting. Casting his eyes round for a
suitable dish to plunder, Roland caught up a platter of 10
food and fled. His fearless act greatly amused the emperor,
who forbade his servants to interfere. Thus the boy
carried off his prize in triumph, and soon set it before the
startled eyes of his mother.
Excited by the success of his raid, a few minutes later the 15
child reëntered the hall, and with equal coolness laid hands
upon the emperor's cup, full of rich wine. Challenged by
Charlemagne, the boy then boldly declared that he wanted
the meat and wine for his mother, a lady of high degree.
In answer to the emperor's bantering questions, he declared
that he was his mother's cupbearer, her page, and
her gallant knight, which answers so amused Charlemagne 5
that he sent for her. He saw her to be his own sister, and,
stricken with remorse, he asked for her forgiveness and
treated her with kindness as long as she lived, and took her
son into his service.
Another legend relates that Charlemagne, hearing that 10
the robber knight of the Ardennes had a priceless jewel
set in his shield, called all his bravest noblemen together,
and bade them sally forth separately, with only a page as
escort, in quest of the knight. Once found, they were to
challenge him in true knightly fashion, and at the point of 15
the lance win the jewel he wore. A day was appointed
when, successful or not, the courtiers were to return, and,
beginning with the lowest in rank, were to give a truthful
account of their adventures while on the quest.
All the knights departed and scoured the forest of the 20
Ardennes, each hoping to meet the robber knight and win
the jewel. Among them was Milon, accompanied by his
son Roland, a lad of fifteen, whom he had taken as page and
armor-bearer. Milon had spent many days in vain search
for the knight, when, exhausted by his long ride, he dismounted, 25
removed his heavy armor, and lay down under a
tree to sleep, bidding Roland keep close watch during his
slumbers.
For a while Roland watched faithfully; then, fired by a
desire to distinguish himself, he donned his father's armor, 30
sprang on his steed, and rode off into the forest in search of
adventures. He had not gone very far when he saw a
gigantic horseman coming to meet him, and by the dazzling
glitter of a large stone set in his shield he recognized him to
be the invincible knight of the Ardennes. Afraid of
nothing, however, he laid his lance in rest when challenged
to fight, and charged so bravely that he unhorsed 5
his opponent. A fearful battle on foot ensued, each striving
hard to accomplish the death of the other. But at last the
fresh young energy of Roland conquered, and his terrible
foe fell to the ground in agony. A minute later his corpse
lay stiff on the field, leaving the victory in the hands of 10
Roland.
Hastily wrenching the coveted jewel from the shield of
the dead warrior, the boy hid it in his breast. Then, riding
rapidly back to his sleeping father, he laid aside the armor
and removed all traces of a bloody encounter. Soon after, 15
Milon awoke and resumed the quest, when he came upon
the body of the dead knight. He was disappointed indeed
to find that another had won the jewel, and rode sadly back
to court, to be present on the appointed day.
In much pomp Charlemagne ascended his throne amid 20
the deafening sound of trumpets. Then, seating himself, he
bade the knights appear before him and relate their adventures.
One after another strode up the hall, followed by an
armor-bearer holding his shield. Each in turn told of
finding the knight slain and the jewel gone. Last of all 25
came Milon. Gloomily he made his way to the throne
to repeat the story that had already been told so often.
But as he went, there followed behind him, with a radiant
face, young Roland, proudly bearing his father's shield,
in the center of which shone the precious jewel. At the 30
sight of this all the nobles started, and whispered to one
another that Milon had done the deed. Then when he
dismally told how he too had found the knight dead a
shout of incredulity greeted him. Turning his head, he
saw to his amazement that his own shield bore the dazzling
gem. At the sight of it he appeared so amazed that
Charlemagne set himself to question Roland and thus soon 5
learned how it had been obtained. In reward for his bravery
in this encounter Roland was knighted, and allowed to
take his place among the paladins of the emperor. Nor was
it long before he further distinguished himself, becoming,
to his father's delight, the most renowned of that famous 10
company.
--_Myths and Legends of the Middle Ages._
1. Explain fully the relationship between
Charlemagne and Roland.
2. How did Roland first attract the emperor's
attention? What do these early acts of the youth
show about the life and living of the times?
3. When did Charlemagne live? Over what country did
he rule? Explain the difference between an emperor
and a king; a page and a knight.
4. What feat did Roland perform when he was yet a
page? One of the characteristics of a legend is its
overstatement of fact. Is there anything improbable
in Roland's overthrow of the knight? In a series of
legendary stories, statements often conflict. What
conflict of statement about Roland's father is
there in this story?
5. Any encyclopedia and many books of legends will
tell you more about Roland. See what you can find,
make brief notes of what you read, and report your
findings from your notes to the class.
6. Pronounce, spell, and define: amused; attracted;
acute; interfere; triumph; gallant; separately;
courtiers; distinguish; gigantic; opponent;
disappointed; paladin.
KEEPING THE BRIDGE
BY THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY
Ancient Rome stood on seven hills on the south shore of the Tiber 5
River, which formed a part of the inner defensive works of the city.
Only one bridge--a wooden affair--spanned the river. Across the
Tiber was the Janiculum, a hill fortified as an outer post of defense.
When Lars Porsena (P[)o]r´s[)e] na), king of Etruria, declared sudden
war on Rome, he marched on the city so rapidly that the Janiculum
was carried by storm. Nothing stood between him and the City of
the Seven Hills--unless the bridge were destroyed. 10
Horatius and two others elected to hold the bridgehead opposite
the city against Porsena's entire army while the Romans cut down
the bridge. The best of the Etruscan warriors came against the powerful
three, only to be slain. Just before the bridge fell into the river,
Horatius sent his two comrades back across the bridge to safety.
He held his foes at bay single-handed till the structure fell into the 15
water. Then he plunged into the Tiber with his heavy fighting gear
on, and swam to the Roman side. Thus was the city saved.
Out spake the Consul roundly:
"The bridge must straight go down;
For since Janiculum is lost, 20
Naught else can save the town."
Then out spake brave Horatius, 5
The Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better 25
Than facing fearful odds, 10
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his gods?
"Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,
With all the speed ye may;
I, with two more to help me,
Will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path a thousand 5
May well be stopped by three.
Now, who will stand on either hand,
And keep the bridge with me?"
Then out spake Spurius Lartius,--
A Ramnian proud was he: 10
"Lo, I will stand on thy right hand,
And keep the bridge with thee."
And out spake strong Herminius,--
Of Titian blood was he:
"I will abide on thy left side, 15
And keep the bridge with thee."
"Horatius," quoth the Consul,
"As thou say'st, so let it be."
And straight against that great array
Forth went the dauntless three. 20
For Romans, in Rome's quarrel,
Spared neither land nor gold,
Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life,
In the brave days of old.
The three stood calm and silent, 25
And looked upon the foes,
And a great shout of laughter
From all the vanguard rose. . . .
But soon Etruria's noblest
Felt their hearts sink to see
On the earth the bloody corpses,
In the path the dauntless three!
Meanwhile the ax and lever 5
Have manfully been plied;
And now the bridge hangs tottering
Above the boiling tide.
"Come back, come back, Horatius!"
Loud cried the Fathers all; 10
"Back, Lartius! back, Herminius!
Back, ere the ruin fall!"
Back darted Spurius Lartius;
Herminius darted back;
And, as they passed, beneath their feet 15
They felt the timbers crack.
But when they turned their faces,
And on the farther shore
Saw brave Horatius stand alone,
They would have crossed once more. 20
But, with a crash like thunder,
Fell every loosened beam,
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck
Lay right athwart the stream;
And a long shout of triumph 25
Rose from the walls of Rome,
As to the highest turret tops
Was splashed the yellow foam.
Alone stood brave Horatius,
But constant still in mind;
Thrice thirty thousand foes before,
And the broad flood behind.
"Down with him!" cried false Sextus, 5
With a smile on his pale face.
"Now yield thee!" cried Lars Porsena,
"Now yield thee to our grace."
Round turned he, as not deigning
Those craven ranks to see; 10
Naught spake he to Lars Porsena,
To Sextus naught spake he;
But he saw on Palatinus
The white porch of his home;
And he spake to the noble river 15
That rolls by the towers of Rome:
"O Tiber! Father Tiber!
To whom the Romans pray!
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms,
Take thou in charge this day!" 20
So he spake, and speaking, sheathed
The good sword by his side,
And with his harness on his back,
Plunged headlong in the tide.
No sound of joy or sorrow 25
Was heard from either bank;
But friends and foes, in dumb surprise,
With parted lips and straining eyes,
Stood gazing where he sank;
And when above the surges
They saw his crest appear,
All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry,
And even the ranks of Tuscany
Could scarce forbear to cheer. 5
"Curse on him!" quoth false Sextus;
"Will not the villain drown?
But for this stay, ere close of day
We should have sacked the town!"
"Heaven help him!" quoth Lars Porsena, 10
"And bring him safe to shore;
For such a gallant feat of arms
Was never seen before."
And now the ground he touches,
Now on dry earth he stands; 15
Now round him throng the Fathers,
To press his gory hands;
And now, with shouts and clapping,
And noise of weeping loud,
He enters through the River Gate, 20
Borne by the joyous crowd.
--_Horatius._
1. This is one of the famous legends of Roman
history, and it loses nothing in Macaulay's
brilliant telling. Lord Macaulay (1800-1859) was an
English statesman, essayist, historian, and poet.
He reveled in the romance of history. Read and
report on his life.
2. What was the situation when this extract takes
up the tale? How many soldiers had Porsena?
3. Imagine yourself in Horatius's place. Read aloud
his brave speech in the first and second stanzas.
4. If you were dramatizing this whole situation,
what scenes would you have? What would be the
climax?
_PIONEER DAYS_
_In these days of the automobile, the swift express
train, the telephone, the telegraph, and the
airplane, it is hard for us to realize that our
country did not always possess the conveniences and
comforts we now enjoy. We are too apt to forget the
struggles the pioneer fathers of our nation had in
their frontier life. To them we owe a debt of
gratitude not only for what we have and are, but
also for the deeds of heroism they have bequeathed
us as a part of our national heritage._
[Illustration: MOLLY PITCHER SALUTES WASHINGTON
(_See following page_)]
THE STORY OF MOLLY PITCHER
BY FRANK R. STOCKTON
The battle of Monmouth, N. J., was fought June 29,
1778. It was the first battle the Americans had
with the British after the terrible winter at
Valley Forge. It would have been a signal victory
for Washington's troops had General Charles Lee
obeyed Washington's orders. Notwithstanding Lee's
acts, the American troops held their ground till
nightfall, when the British quietly retreated.
At the battle of Monmouth, a young Irishwoman,
wife of an artilleryman, played a very notable part
in the working of the American cannon on that eventful
day in June.
Molly was born with the soul of a soldier, and although 5
she did not belong to the army she much preferred going
to war to staying at home and attending to domestic affairs.
She was in the habit of following her husband on his various
marches, and on the day of the Monmouth battle she was
with him on the field. 10
The day was very hot. The rays of the sun came down
with such force that many of the soldiers were taken sick
and some died; and the constant discharges of musketry
and artillery did not make the air any cooler. Molly devoted
herself to keeping her husband as comfortable as 15
possible, and she made frequent trips to a spring not far
away to bring him water; and on this account he was one
of the freshest and coolest artillerymen on the ground.
In fact, there was no man belonging to the battery who was
able to manage one of these great guns better than Pitcher. 20
Returning from one of her trips to the spring, Molly
had almost reached the place where her husband was
stationed when a bullet from the enemy struck the poor
man and stretched him dead, so that Molly had no sooner
caught sight of her husband than she saw him fall. She 5
ran to the gun, but scarcely had reached it before she heard
one of the officers order the cannon to be wheeled back out
of the way, saying that there was no one there who could
serve it as it had been served.
Now Molly's eyes flashed fire. One might have thought 10
that she would have been prostrated with grief at the loss
of her husband, but as we have said, she had within her
the soul of a soldier. She had seen her husband, who was
the same to her as a comrade, fall, and she was filled with
an intense desire to avenge his death. She cried out to 15
the officer not to send the gun away but to let her serve it;
and scarcely waiting to hear what he would say, she sprang
to the cannon and began to load it and fire it. She had so
often attended her husband and even helped him in his
work that she knew all about this sort of thing, and her 20
gun was managed well and rapidly.
It might be supposed that it would be a very strange
thing to see a woman on the battlefield firing a cannon;
but even if the enemy had watched Molly with a spyglass,
they would not have noticed anything to excite their surprise. 25
She wore an ordinary skirt, like other women of
the time; but over this was an artilleryman's coat and on
her head was a cocked hat with some jaunty feathers stuck
in it, so that she looked almost as much like a man as the
rest of the soldiers of the battery. 30
During the rest of the battle Molly bravely served her
gun; and if she did as much execution in the ranks of the
redcoats as she wanted to do, the loss in the regiments in
front of her must have been very great. Of course all the
men in the battery knew Molly Pitcher, and they watched
her with the greatest interest and admiration. She would
not allow anyone to take her place, but kept on loading and 5
firing until the work of the day was done. Then the
officers and men crowded about her with congratulations
and praise.
The next day General Greene went to Molly--whom he
found in very much the condition in which she had left 10
the battlefield, stained with dirt and powder, with her
fine feathers gone and her cocked hat dilapidated--and
conducted her, just as she was, to General Washington.
When the commander in chief heard what she had done,
he gave her warm words of praise. He determined to 15
bestow upon her a substantial reward; for anyone who was
brave enough and able enough to step in and fill an important
place, as Molly had filled her husband's place,
certainly deserved a reward. It was not according to the
rules of war to give a commission to a woman; but as 20
Molly had acted the part of a man, Washington considered
it right to pay her for her services as if she had been a man.
He therefore gave her the commission of a sergeant and
recommended that her name be placed on the list of half-pay
officers for life. 25
--_Stories of New Jersey._
1. How did Molly come to be on the battlefield?
Describe her as she looked in an artilleryman's
garb. Relate briefly her deed of heroism. How was
it rewarded?
2. What other heroines of history can you recall?
3. Frank R. Stockton (1834-1902) is a well-known
name in American literature. He wrote many books,
among which _Rudder Grange_ stands high. His short
stories, however, are his best work.
KING PHILIP TO THE WHITE SETTLERS
BY EDWARD EVERETT
For thirty years Massasoit was the firm friend of
the early settlers in New England. But when his son
Philip came to rule over the Indian tribe their
former friendship for the whites was broken. In
1675 Philip led his 10,000 warriors against the
white settlers. King Philip's War lasted into 1676
when Philip was captured and slain. The following
is a supposed speech of defiance that Philip
delivered to the colonists.
White man, there is eternal war between thee and
me! I quit not the land of my fathers but with my
life. In those woods where I bent my youthful bow, I will
still hunt the deer. Over yonder waters I will still glide
unrestrained in my bark canoe. By those dashing waterfalls 5
I will still lay up my winter's store of food. On these
fertile meadows I will still plant my corn. Stranger, the
land is mine! I understand not these paper rights. I gave
not my consent when, as thou sayest, these broad regions
were purchased, for a few baubles, of my fathers. They 10
could sell what was theirs; they could sell no more. How
could my fathers sell that which the Great Spirit sent me
into the world to live upon? They knew not what they
did. The stranger came, a timid suppliant, few and
feeble, and asked to lie down on the red man's bearskin, and 15
warm himself at the red man's fire, and have a little piece
of land to raise corn for his women and children; and now
he is become strong, and mighty, and bold, and spreads
out his parchment over the whole, and says, "It is mine!"
Stranger, there is not room for us both. The Great Spirit
has not made us to live together. There is poison in the
white man's cup; the white man's dog barks at the red
man's heels.
If I should leave the land of my fathers, whither shall I 5
fly? Shall I go to the south, and dwell among the graves
of the Pequots? Shall I wander to the west?--the fierce
Mohawk, the man-eater, is my foe. Shall I fly to the east?--the
great water is before me. No, stranger, here I have
lived, and here I will die! And if here thou abidest, there 10
is eternal war between thee and me. Thou hast taught
me thy arts of destruction. For that alone I thank thee;
and now take heed to thy steps; the red man is thy foe.
When thou goest forth by day, my bullet shall whistle
by thee; when thou liest down at night, my knife is at thy 15
throat. The noonday sun shall not discover thy enemy,
and the darkness of midnight shall not protect thy rest.
Thou shalt plant in terror, and I will reap in blood; thou
shalt sow the earth with corn, and I will strew it with ashes;
thou shalt go forth with the sickle, and I will follow after 20
with the scalping knife; thou shalt build, and I will burn,
till the white man or the Indian shall cease from the land.
Go thy way, for this time, in safety; but remember,
stranger, there is eternal war between me and thee.
1. What reasons did Philip give for declaring war?
To what extent were his reasons good?
2. What did he mean by "paper rights"; "a timid
suppliant"; "poison in the white man's cup"; "arts
of destruction"?
3. Edward Everett (1794-1865) was an American
statesman, orator, and scholar. He served as a
member of Congress, and afterwards was president of
Harvard College. He was the leading orator of his
day.
PIONEER LIFE IN OHIO
BY WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS
William Dean Howells (1837-1920) long held a
position of leadership among American writers of
prose. In his many years of authorship he produced
novels, essays, criticism, plays, travel, and
biography. For ten years he was editor of the
_Atlantic Monthly_; and he was connected at various
times with _Harper's Magazine_, _The Nation_, and
other journals. His writings excel in the
truthfulness of the descriptions.
It would not be easy to say where or when the first log
cabin was built, but it is safe to say that it was somewhere
in the English colonies of North America, and it is
certain that it became the type of the settler's house
throughout the whole Middle West. It may be called the 5
American house, the Western house, the Ohio house.
Hardly any other house was built for a hundred years by the
men who were clearing the land for the stately mansions of
our day. As long as the primeval forests stood, the log cabin
remained the woodsman's home; and not fifty years ago 10
I saw log cabins newly built in one of the richest and most
prosperous regions of Ohio. They were, to be sure, log
cabins of a finer pattern than the first settler reared. They
were of logs handsomely shaped with the broadax; the
joints between the logs were plastered with mortar; the 15
chimney at the end was of stone; the roof was shingled,
the windows were of glass, and the door was solid and well
hung. They were such cabins as were the homes of the
well-to-do settlers in all the older parts of the West. But
throughout that region there were many log cabins, mostly
sunk to the uses of stables and corn cribs, of the kind that
the borderers built in the times of the Indian War, from
1750 to 1800. They were framed of the round logs, untouched
by the ax except for the notches at the ends where 5
they were fitted into one another; the chimney was of
small sticks stuck together with mud, and was as frail
as a barn-swallow's nest; the walls were stuffed with moss,
plastered with clay; the floor was of rough boards called
puncheons, riven from the block with a heavy knife; the 10
roof was of clapboards, split from logs and laid loosely on
the rafters and held in place with logs fastened athwart
them.
When the first settlers broke the silence of the woods
with the stroke of their axes and hewed out a space for their 15
cabins and their fields, they inclosed their homes with a
high stockade of logs, for defense against the Indians; or
if they built their cabins outside the wooden walls of their
stronghold, they always expected to flee to it at the first
alarm and to stand siege within it. The Indians had 20
no cannon, and the logs of the stockade were proof against
their rifles; if a breach was made, there was still the blockhouse
left, the citadel of every little fort. This was heavily
built, and pierced with loopholes for the riflemen within,
whose wives ran bullets for them at its mighty hearth, and 25
who kept the savage foe from its sides by firing down upon
them through the projecting timbers of its upper story;
but in many a fearful siege the Indians set the roof ablaze
with arrows wrapped in burning tow, and then the fight
became desperate indeed. After the Indian War ended, 30
the stockade was no longer needed, and the settlers had
only the wild beasts to contend with, and those constant
enemies of the poor in all ages and conditions--hunger
and cold.
They deadened the trees around them by girdling them
with the ax, and planted the spaces between the leafless
trunks with corn and beans and pumpkins. These were 5
their necessaries, but they had an occasional luxury in the
wild honey from the hollow of a bee tree when the bears
had not got at it. In its season, there was an abundance
of wild fruit, plums and cherries, haws and grapes, berries
and nuts of every kind, and the maples yielded all the 10
sugar they chose to make from them. But it was long
before they had, at any time, the profusion which our
modern arts enable us to enjoy the whole year round, and
in the hard beginnings the orchard and the garden were
forgotten for the fields. Their harvests must pay for the 15
acres bought of the government, or from some speculator
who had never seen the land; and the settler must be
prompt in paying, or else see his home pass from him after
all his toil into the hands of strangers. He worked hard
and he fared hard, and if he was safer when peace came, 20
it is doubtful if he were otherwise more fortunate. As the
game grew scarcer it was no longer so easy to provide food
for his family; the change from venison and wild turkey
to the pork which early began to prevail in his diet was
hardly a wholesome one. Besides, in cutting down the 25
trees he opened spaces to the sun which had been harmless
enough in the shadow of the woods, but which now sent up
their ague-breeding miasma. Ague was the scourge of
the whole region, and it was hard to know whether the
pestilence was worse on the rich levels beside the rivers, or 30
on the stony hills where the settlers sometimes built to
escape it.
When once the settler was housed against the weather,
he had the conditions of a certain rude comfort indoors.
If his cabin was not proof against the wind and rain or snow,
its vast fireplace formed the means of heating, while the
forest was an inexhaustible store of fuel. At first he dressed 5
in the skins and pelts of the deer and fox and wolf, and his
costume could have varied little from that of the red savage
about him, for we often read how he mistook Indians
for white men at first sight, and how the Indians in their
turn mistook white men for their own people. The whole 10
family went barefoot in the summer, but in winter the
pioneer wore moccasins of buckskin and buckskin leggins
or trousers; his coat was a hunting shirt belted at the
waist and fringed where it fell to his knees. It was of
homespun, a mixture of wool and flax called linsey-woolsey, 15
and out of this the dresses of his wife and daughters were
made. The wool was shorn from the sheep, which were so
scarce that they were never killed for their flesh, except
by the wolves, which were very fond of mutton but had
no use for wool. For a wedding dress a cotton check was 20
thought superb, and it really cost a dollar a yard; silks,
satins, laces, were unknown. A man never left his house
without his rifle; the gun was a part of his dress, and in
his belt he carried a hunting knife and a hatchet; on his
head he wore a cap of squirrel skin, often with the plume-like 25
tail dangling from it.
The furniture of the cabins was, like the clothing of
the pioneers, homemade. A bedstead was contrived by
stretching poles from forked sticks driven into the ground
and laying clapboards across them; the bedclothes were 30
bearskins. Stools, benches, and tables were roughed out
with auger and broadax; the puncheon floor was left bare,
and if the earth formed the floor, no rug ever replaced the
grass which was its first carpet. The cabin had but one
room, where the whole of life went on by day; the father
and mother slept there at night, and the children mounted
to their chamber in the loft by means of a ladder. 5
The food was what has been already named. The meat
was venison, bear, raccoon, wild turkey, wild duck, and
pheasant; the drink was water, or rye coffee, or whisky,
which the little stills everywhere supplied only too abundantly.
Wheat bread was long unknown, and corn cakes 10
of various makings and bakings supplied its place. The
most delicious morsel of all was corn grated while still in
the milk and fashioned into round cakes eaten hot from
the clapboard before the fire, or from the mysterious depths
of the Dutch oven buried in coals and ashes on the hearth. 15
There was soon a great flow of milk from the kine that
multiplied in the pastures in the woods, and there was sweetening
enough from the maple tree and the bee tree, but
salt was very scarce and very dear, and long journeys
were made through the perilous woods to and from the 20
licks, or salt springs, which the deer had discovered before
the white man or the red man knew them.
The bees which hived their honey in the hollow trees
were tame bees gone wild, and with the coming of the
settlers some of the wild things increased so much that 25
they became a pest. Such were the crows which literally
blackened the fields after the settlers plowed, and which
the whole family had to fight from the corn when it was
planted. Such were the rabbits, and such, above all, were
the squirrels, which overran the farms and devoured every 30
green thing till the people combined in great squirrel hunts
and destroyed them by tens of thousands. The larger
game had meanwhile disappeared. The buffalo and the
elk went first; the deer followed, and the bear, and even
the useless wolf. But long after these the poisonous reptiles
lingered, the rattlesnake, the moccasin, and the yet-deadlier
copperhead; and it was only when the whole 5
country was cleared that they ceased to be a very common
danger.
--_Stories of Ohio._
1. Make a pen or pencil sketch of the log house
Howells describes; of the bedstead. Help the class
make a display board of printed pictures that
illustrate the objects mentioned.
2. What were the hardships of pioneering? The
pleasures? Make a list of modern household
conveniences the American pioneer did not have.
WITCHCRAFT
BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the
best-known figures in American literature. He was a
New Englander, and most of his writings deal with
events or situations located in New England. He was
especially happy in retelling old stories or in
constructing tales from historical events.
Sir William Phips became Governor of Massachusetts
in 1692. Almost as soon as he assumed the government
he became engaged in a frightful business which
might have perplexed a wiser and better-cultivated head
than his. This was the witchcraft delusion, which originated 5
in the wicked arts of a few children. They belonged
to the Rev. Mr. Parris, minister of Salem. These children
complained of being pinched, and pricked with pins, and
otherwise tormented, by the shapes of men and women,
who were supposed to have power to haunt them invisibly
both in darkness and daylight.
Often in the midst of their family and friends the children
would pretend to be seized with strange convulsions and 5
would cry out that the witches were afflicting them. These
stories spread abroad and caused great tumult and alarm.
From the foundation of New England it had been the custom
of the inhabitants, in matters of doubt and difficulty,
to look to their ministers for counsel. So they did now; 10
but unfortunately the ministers and wise men were more
deluded than the illiterate people. Cotton Mather, a
very learned and eminent clergyman, believed that the
whole country was full of witches and wizards who had
given up their hopes of heaven and signed a covenant with 15
the Evil One.
Nobody could be certain that his nearest neighbor or
most intimate friend was not guilty of this imaginary crime.
The number of those who pretended to be afflicted by
witchcraft grew daily more numerous; and they bore 20
testimony against many of the best and worthiest people.
A minister named George Burroughs was among the
accused. In the months of August and September, 1692,
he and nineteen other innocent men and women were put
to death. The place of execution was a high hill on the 25
outskirts of Salem; so that many of the sufferers, as they
stood beneath the gallows, could discern their habitations
in the town.
The killing of these guiltless persons served only to
increase the madness. The afflicted now grew bolder in 30
their accusations. Many people of rank and wealth were
either thrown into prison or compelled to flee for their
lives. Among these were two sons of old Simon Bradstreet,
the last of the Puritan governors. Mr. Willard, a pious
minister of Boston, was cried out upon as a wizard in open
court. Mrs. Hale, the wife of the minister of Beverly,
was likewise accused. Philip English, a rich merchant of 5
Salem, found it necessary to take flight, leaving his property
and business in confusion. But a short time afterward
the Salem people were glad to invite him back.
The boldest thing the accusers did was to cry out against
the Governor's own beloved wife. Yes, the lady of Sir 10
William Phips was accused of being a witch and of flying
through the air to attend witch meetings. When the
Governor heard this, he probably trembled.
Our forefathers soon became convinced that they had
been led into a terrible delusion. All the prisoners on 15
account of witchcraft were set free. But the innocent
dead could not be restored to life, and the hill where they
were executed will always remind people of the saddest
and most humiliating passage in our history.
--_Grandfather's Chair._
1. Find a biography of Hawthorne and report to the
class on one of the following topics: his youth and
education; his early manhood; his writings. In
place of either of these subjects you may
substitute the retelling of another story of
Hawthorne's you have read.
2. Briefly, what is the history of witchcraft in
New England?
3. How do you account for people as level-headed as
the New England settlers believing in witches?
TEA PARTIES IN OLD NEW YORK
BY WASHINGTON IRVING
This extract portrays social life among the early
Dutch settlers on the island of Manhattan. It is
written in Irving's deliciously humorous style.
In those happy days, a well-regulated family always
rose with the dawn, dined at eleven, and went to bed
at sundown. Dinner was invariably a private meal, and
the fat old burghers showed incontestable symptoms of
disapprobation and uneasiness on being surprised by a 5
visit from a neighbor on such occasions. But though our
worthy ancestors were thus singularly averse to giving
dinners, yet they kept up the social bonds of intimacy by
occasional banquetings, called tea parties.
As this is the first introduction of those delectable orgies 10
which have since become so fashionable in this city, I am
conscious my fair readers will be very curious to receive
information on the subject. Sorry am I that there will be
but little in my description calculated to excite their admiration.
I can neither delight them with accounts of suffocating 15
crowds, nor brilliant drawing rooms, nor towering
feathers, nor sparkling diamonds, nor immeasurable trains.
I can detail no choice anecdotes of scandal, for in those
primitive times the simple folk were either too stupid or
too good-natured to pull each other's characters to pieces; 20
nor can I furnish any whimsical anecdotes of brag--how
one lady cheated or another bounced into a passion; for
as yet there was no junto of dulcet old dowagers who met
to win each other's money and lose their own tempers at
a card table.
These fashionable parties were generally confined to the
higher classes, or _noblesse_; that is to say, such as kept their
own cows and drove their own wagons. The company 5
commonly assembled at three o'clock and went away about
six, unless it was winter time, when the fashionable hours
were a little earlier, that the ladies might get home before
dark. I do not find that they ever treated their company
to ice creams, jellies, or sillabubs, or regaled them with 10
musty almonds, moldy raisins, or sour oranges, as is often
done in the present age of refinement. Our ancestors were
fond of more sturdy, substantial fare. The tea table was
crowned with a huge earthen dish, well stored with slices
of fat pork, fried brown, cut up into morsels, and swimming 15
in gravy.
The company, being seated around the genial board and
each furnished with a fork, evinced their dexterity in
launching at the fattest pieces of this mighty dish in much
the same manner as sailors harpoon porpoises at sea or 20
our Indians spear salmon in the lakes. Sometimes the
table was graced with immense apple pies or saucers full
of preserved peaches and pears; but it was always sure to
boast of an enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough
fried in hog's fat and called doughnuts; a delicious kind 25
of cake, at present scarce known in this city except in genuine
Dutch families.
The tea was served out of a majestic delft teapot ornamented
with paintings of fat little Dutch shepherds and
shepherdesses tending pigs, with boats sailing in the air 30
and houses built in the clouds, and sundry other ingenious
Dutch fantasies. The beaux distinguished themselves by
their adroitness in replenishing this pot from a huge copper
teakettle which would have made the pigmy macaronis
of these degenerate days sweat merely to look at it. To
sweeten the beverage, a lump of sugar was laid beside each
cup, and the company alternately nibbled and sipped with 5
great decorum; until an improvement was introduced
by a shrewd and economic old lady, which was to suspend
a large lump directly over the tea table by a string from
the ceiling, so that it could be swung from mouth to mouth--an
ingenious expedient, which is still kept up by some 10
families in Albany, but which prevails without exception
in Communipaw, Bergen, Flatbush, and all our uncontaminated
Dutch villages.
At these primitive tea parties the utmost propriety and
dignity of deportment prevailed. No flirting nor coquetting; 15
no gambling of old ladies nor hoyden chattering and
romping of young ones; no self-satisfied struttings of
wealthy gentlemen with their brains in their pockets nor
amusing conceits and monkey divertisements of smart
young gentlemen with no brains at all. 20
The parties broke up without noise and without confusion.
They were carried home by their own carriages; that
is to say, by the vehicles nature had provided them, excepting
such of the wealthy as could afford to keep a wagon.
--_Knickerbocker's History of New York._
1. Read some passages in which Irving pokes fun at
the Dutch customs; at the customs of his own times.
2. How was a tea party conducted in New Amsterdam?
3. Explain these words: incontestable,
disapprobation, averse, delectable, orgies,
whimsical, junto, dulcet, dowagers, macaronis,
pigmy, hoyden, divertisements. Read your definition
into the sentence where the word occurs.
A SCHOOL OF LONG AGO
BY EDWARD EGGLESTON
The following description of a pioneer school in
Pennsylvania affords a fine opportunity to study
the methods of teaching then in vogue. Many of them
may appeal to us as being ludicrous; but
undoubtedly Dock's teaching was in many ways far in
advance of the times, when the usual and
most-approved method of "imparting knowledge"
consisted in beating ideas into pupils' heads with
hickory switches.
A hundred and fifty years ago there was a famous
teacher among the German settlers in Pennsylvania,
who was known as "The Good Schoolmaster." His name
was Christopher Dock, and he had two little country schools.
For three days he would teach at a little place called Skippack, 5
and then for the next three days he would teach at
Salford.
People said that the good schoolmaster never lost his
temper. There was a man who thought he would try to
make him angry. He said many harsh and abusive words 10
to the teacher, and even cursed him; but the only reply
the teacher made was, "Friend, may the Lord have mercy
on you."
Other schoolmasters used to beat their scholars severely
with whips and long switches; but Schoolmaster Dock 15
had found a better way. When a child came to school for
the first time, the other scholars were made to give the
new scholar a welcome by shaking hands with him one
after another. Then the new boy or girl was told that
this was not a harsh school but a place for those who would
behave. And if a scholar were lazy, disobedient, or stubborn,
the master would in the presence of the whole school
pronounce him not fit for this school but only for a school
where children were flogged. The new scholar was asked 5
to promise to obey and to be diligent. When he had made
this promise, he was shown to a seat.
"Now," the good master would say, when this was
done, "who will take this new scholar and help him to
learn?" When the new boy or girl was clean and bright 10
looking, many would be willing to take charge of him or
her; but there were few ready to teach a dirty, ragged little
child. Sometimes no one would wish to do it. In such a
case the master would offer to the one who would take such
a child a reward of one of the beautiful texts of Scripture 15
which the schoolmasters of that time used to write and
decorate for the children. Or he would give him one of
the pictures of birds which he was accustomed to paint
with his own hands.
Whenever one of the younger scholars succeeded in 20
learning his A, B, C, Christopher Dock would send word
to the father of the child to give him a penny, and he would
ask his mother to cook two eggs for him as a treat. These
were fine rewards for poor children in a new country.
There were no clocks or watches in the country. The 25
children came to school one after another, taking their
places near the master, who sat writing. They spent
their time reading until all were there; but everyone who
succeeded in reading his passage without mistake stopped
reading and came and sat at the writing table to write. 30
The poor fellow who remained last on the bench was called
the Lazy Scholar.
Every Lazy Scholar had his name written on the blackboard.
If a child at any time failed to read correctly, he
was sent back to study his passage and called again after
a while. If he failed a second or a third time, all the scholars
cried out, "Lazy!" Then his name was written on 5
the blackboard, and all the poor Lazy Scholar's friends
went to work to teach him to read his lesson correctly. And
if his name should not be rubbed off the board before school
was dismissed, all the scholars might write it down and
take it home with them. But if he could read well before 10
school was out, the scholars, at the bidding of the master,
called out, "Industrious!" and then his name was erased.
The funniest of Dock's rewards was that which he gave
to those who made no mistake in their lessons. He marked
a large O with chalk on the hand of the perfect scholar. 15
Fancy what a time the boys and girls must have had, trying
to go home without rubbing out this O!
If you had gone into this school some day, you might
have seen a boy sitting on a punishment bench, all alone.
This was a fellow who had told a lie or used bad language. 20
He was put there as not fit to sit near anybody else. If
he committed the offense often, a yoke would be put round
his neck, as if he were a brute. Sometimes, however, the
teacher would give the scholars their choice of a blow on
the hand or a seat on the punishment bench. They usually 25
preferred the blow.
The old schoolmaster in Skippack wrote one hundred
rules of good behavior for his scholars. This is perhaps the
first book on good manners written in America. But rules
of behavior for people living in houses of one or two rooms, 30
as they did in that day, were very different from those
needed in our time. Here are some of the rules:
"When you comb your hair, do not go out in the middle
of the room," says the schoolmaster. This was because families
were accustomed to eat and sleep in the same room.
"Do not eat your morning bread on the road or in school,"
he tells them, "but ask your parents to give it to you at 5
home." From this we see that the common breakfast
was bread alone, and that the children often ate it as they
walked to school.
"Put your knife upon the right and your bread on the
left side," he says. Forks were little used in those days, 10
and the people in the country did not have any. He also
tells them not to throw bones under the table. It was a
common practice among some people of that time to throw
bones and scraps under the table, where the dogs ate them.
As time passed on, Christopher Dock had many friends, 15
for all his scholars of former years loved him greatly. He
lived to be very old, and taught his schools to the last.
One evening he did not come home, and the people went
to look for the beloved old man. They found their dear
old master on his knees in the schoolhouse. He had died 20
while praying alone.
--_Stories of American Life and Adventure._
1. How was Christopher Dock's school different from
most pioneer schools of that day?
2. How did he teach good behavior? What inducements
were offered for scholarship? You often hear people
say that only the "three R's" were taught when they
went to school. What do they mean?
3. What information about pioneer home life does
this article give you?
4. You will be interested to know that the pupils
in the early schools studied their reading aloud at
the top of their voices. They learned reading by
singing "ab," "ba," etc. Later, when geography was
taught, the capitals of the states were sung.
FRENCH LIFE IN THE NORTHWEST
BY JAMES BALDWIN
You will recall that the French explorers
Marquette, Joliet, La Salle, and others established
missions and trading posts in the Illinois country.
It was due to these early explorations that the
French got control of a large part of the Northwest
Territory.
The following narrative tells of the simple life of
the French settlers in that territory.
It is interesting to learn how the French people in the
Illinois country lived in friendship with the savage
tribes around them. The settlements were usually small
villages on the edge of a prairie or in the heart of the woods.
They were always near the bank of a river; for the watercourses 5
were the only roads and the light canoes of the
_voyageurs_ were the only means of travel. There the French
settlers lived like one great family, having for their rulers
the village priest and the older men of the community.
The houses were built along a single narrow street and so 10
close together that the villagers could carry on their
neighborly gossip each from his own doorstep. These
houses were made of a rude framework of corner posts,
studs, and crossties, and were plastered, outside and in,
with "cat and clay"--a kind of mortar, made of mud and 15
mixed with straw and moss. Around each house was a
picket fence, and the forms of the dooryards and gardens
were regulated by the village lawgivers.
Adjoining the village was a large inclosure, or "common
field," for the free use of all the villagers. The size of 20
this field depended upon the number of families in the
settlement; it sometimes contained several hundred acres.
It was divided into plots or allotments, one for each household,
and the size of the plot was proportioned according
to the number of persons in the family. Each household 5
attended to the cultivation of its own ground and gathered
its own harvest. And if anyone should neglect to care for
his plot and let it become overgrown with weeds and thistles,
he forfeited his right to any part of the common field and
his ground was given to another. 10
Surrounding the common field was a large tract of
cleared land that was used as a common pasture ground.
In some cases there were thousands of acres in this tract,
and yet no person was allowed to use any part of it except
for the pasturage of his stock. When a new family came 15
into the settlement or a newly married couple began housekeeping,
a small part of the pasture ground was taken into
the common field, in order to give the new household its
proper allotment.
The priest occupied the place of father to all the villagers, 20
whether white or red. They confided all their troubles to
him. He was their oracle in matters of learning as well as
of religion. They obeyed his word as law.
The great business of all was fur trading and the care of
their little plots of ground. The women kept their homes 25
in order, tended their gardens, and helped with the plowing
and the harvesting. The men were the protectors of the
community. Some were soldiers, some were traders, but
most were engaged in hunting and in gathering beaver skins
and buffalo hides to be sold to the traders. 30
The traders kept a small stock of French goods--laces,
ribbons, and other articles, useful and ornamental--and
these they exchanged for the products of the forest. The
young men, as a rule, sought business and pleasure in the
great woods. Some of them became _voyageurs_, or boatmen,
in the service of the traders. In their light canoes they
explored every rivulet and stream and visited the distant 5
tribes among the sources of the Mississippi and Missouri.
Others took to the forest as woods rangers, or _coureurs de
bois_, and became almost as wild as the Indians themselves.
They wandered wherever their fancy led them, hunting
game, trapping beavers, and trading with their dusky 10
friends. Those who roamed in the Lake regions built here
and there small forts of logs and surrounded them with
palisades. In one of these forts a company of two or three
_coureurs_ would remain for a few weeks and then leave it
to be occupied by anyone who might next come that way. 15
A post of this kind was built at Detroit long before any
permanent settlement was made there; and scattered long
distances apart on the Lake shore and in the heart of the
wilderness, were many others.
The northern _coureurs_, when returning from the woods, 20
resorted to Mackinac as their headquarters; or loaded
with beaver skins they made their way to Montreal,
where they conducted themselves in a manner that would
have shamed a Mohawk or a Sioux. But the rangers
of the Illinois country were in the habit of returning once 25
each year to their village homes. There they were welcomed
with joy, balls and festivals were given in their
honor, and old and young gathered around them to hear
the story of their adventures.
Thus in the heart of the wilderness, these French settlers 30
passed their lives in the enjoyment of unbounded freedom.
They delighted in amusements and there were almost as
many holidays as working days. Being a thousand miles
from any center of civilization they knew but little of what
was taking place in the world. In their hearts they were
devoted to their mother country; they believed that
"France ruled the world and therefore all must be right." 5
Further than this they troubled themselves but little.
They were contented and happy and seldom allowed
themselves to be annoyed by the perplexing cares of
business.
They had no wish to subdue the wilderness--to hew 10
down the forest, and make farms, and build roads, and
bring civilization to their doors. To do this would be to
change the modes of living that were so dear to them. It
would destroy the fur trade, and then what would become
of the traders, the _voyageurs_, and the _coureurs 15
de bois_? These French settlers were not the kind of people to
found colonies and build empires.
We are indebted to Father Marest for a description
of the daily routine of life among the converts and French
settlers at Kaskaskia. At early dawn his pupils came to 20
him in the church, where they had prayers and all joined
in singing hymns. Then the Christians in the village met
together to hear him say Mass--the women standing on
one side of the room, the men on the other.
The French women were dressed in prettily colored 25
jackets and short gowns of homemade woolen stuffs or of
French goods of finer texture. In summer most of them
were barefooted, but in winter and on holidays they wore
Indian moccasins gayly decorated with porcupine quills,
shells, and colored beads. Instead of hats they wore 30
bright-colored handkerchiefs, interlaced with gay ribbons
and sometimes wreathed with flowers.
The men wore long vests drawn over their shirts, leggings
of buckskin or of coarse woolen cloth, and wooden clog
shoes or moccasins of heavy leather. In winter they
wrapped themselves in long overcoats with capes and hoods
that could be drawn over their heads and thus serve for 5
hats. In summer their heads were covered with blue
handkerchiefs worn turbanlike as a protection from mosquitoes
as well as from the rays of the sun.
After the morning devotions were over, each person
betook himself to whatever business or amusement was 10
most necessary or congenial; and the priest went out to
visit the sick, giving them medicine and consoling them in
whatever way he could. In the afternoon those who chose
to do so came again to the church to be taught the catechism.
During the rest of the day the priest walked about 15
the village, talking with old and young and entering into
sympathy with all their hopes and plans. In the evening
the people would meet together again to chant the hymns
of the church. This daily round of duty and devotion
was often varied by the coming of holidays and festivals 20
and sometimes by occurrences of a sadder nature--death,
or misfortune, or the threatened invasion of savage foes.
--_The Discovery of the Old Northwest._
1. Contrast the life of these French communities
with the life of the Dutch settlers as described in
pages 70-72. How did it differ from pioneer life in
Ohio (pages 62-67)?
2. Why did the French communities not make
progress? Why did the English colonists finally
overcome them?
3. Longfellow's _Evangeline_ describes French life
in Nova Scotia. If you have read it, tell your
classmates how Evangeline lived.
4. Find from your histories what parts of North
America were settled by the French. What parts of
it are still peopled largely by French?
A BEAR STORY
BY MAURICE THOMPSON
Not the least of the perils of the pioneers were
the wild animals of the forest. Bears, wolves, and
panthers were the worst terrors. Mothers were in
constant fear of their children straying away from
the cabin into the woods where four-footed danger
lurked.
A man and his wife with three children--a boy aged nine
and two little girls, the elder seven and the younger
five years old--lived in a comfortable cabin not far from
the eastern line of Indiana. Their nearest neighbor was
six or seven miles distant, and all around their little clearing 5
stood a wall of dense forest. The father tended a small
field of corn and vegetables, but their main dependence for
food was upon the game killed by him, so he was often
absent all day in the woods, hunting deer and turkeys.
The children were forbidden to go outside the inclosure 10
while their father was away, and the mother, at the slightest
hint of danger, was instructed to close the door and bar it
and shut the portholes. But even in times of such danger,
people grew careless and permitted themselves to take
risks in a way quite incredible to our minds. Children 15
were restless when confined to a cabin or within a small
yard, when the green woods were but a few steps away,
with flowers blooming and rich mosses growing all around.
They constantly longed to be free, if only for a few moments,
to wander at will and make playhouses in the dusky shade, 20
to climb upon the great logs and watch the gay-winged
birds flit about in the foliage on high.
One day in early spring the father went to the woods to
hunt. Before setting forth with his rifle on his shoulder,
he particularly charged his wife not to permit the children,
no matter how much they begged and cried for it, to go
outside the yard. 5
"At this time of the year," he said, "bears and all other
wild beasts are cross. They wander everywhere and are
very dangerous when met with. Watch the children."
The wife did try faithfully to keep her eyes upon her
darlings; but she had many household duties to perform, 10
and so at last she forgot.
The spring was very early that year, and although it
was not yet May, the green tassels were on the maples and
the wild flowers made the ground gay in places. All around
the clearing ran a ripple of bird song. The sunshine was 15
dreamy, the wind soft and warm.
The little boy felt the temptation. It was as if a sweet
voice called him to the wood. Nor were the little girls
less attracted than he by the thought of gathering mosses
and flowers and running at will under the high old trees. 20
Before their mother knew it, they were gone. She had
not yet discovered their truancy when a cry coming from
some distance startled her; it was her little boy's voice
screaming lustily, and upon looking out she saw all three
of the children running as fast as they could across the 25
clearing from the wood toward the house. Behind them,
at a slow, peculiar lope, a huge bear followed.
Frightened almost to death, the poor woman scarcely
knew what she was doing; but she had the fighting instinct
of all backwoods people, and her first motion was to snatch 30
off the wall, where it lay in a deer's-horn rest, a large horse
pistol. With this in hand she ran to meet her children.
Some hunter had broken the bear's fore leg with a bullet
a few days before, which accounted for its strange, waddling
gait; but it was almost within reach of the hindmost child
when the mother arrived. The bear at once turned its
attention to the newcomer, and with a terrific snarl rushed 5
at her. On sped the children, screaming and crazy with
fright. It was a moment of imminent peril to the mother,
but she was equal to the occasion. She leveled the pistol
and fired. Six leaden slugs struck the bear in the head
and neck, knocking it over. 10
Not very far away in the woods at the time, the man
heard the loud report, and fearing that Indians were murdering
his family, he ran home to find his wife just reviving
from a swoon. She had fainted immediately after seeing
the effect of her shot. 15
The bear was not yet dead, but a ball from the rifle finished
him. He was a monster in size. Doubtless the
wound in his fore leg had made it difficult for him to get
food, and he had attacked the children on account of sheer
hunger. But had he not been in that maimed condition, 20
his attack would have been successful and the hindmost
child would have been torn to pieces and eaten up in the
shortest time and with little show of table manners.
--_Stories of Indiana._
1. There must be in your community some older
person who knows stories of the pioneer days. Ask
your teacher to have him tell your class about the
life of an earlier day.
2. What other bear stories have you read or heard?
3. Maurice Thompson (1844-1901) knew life in the
Middle West at first hand. His home was in Indiana.
He was the author of several stories, his
widest-read novel being _Alice of Old Vincennes_.
A PATRIOT OF GEORGIA
BY JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS
Many of the most interesting incidents of the
Revolutionary War are buried in old state
documents, in family records, or in stray personal
letters. Others are largely traditional; for our
ancestors of pioneer days were doers rather than
chroniclers of their doings.
The following event is largely legendary, but none
the less true. It is dramatically told here by the
author of the Uncle Remus stories.
The Revolutionary War in Georgia developed some
very romantic figures, which are known to us rather
by tradition than by recorded history. First among them,
on the side of the patriots, was Robert Sallette. Neither
history nor tradition gives us the place of his birth or the 5
date of his death; yet it is known that he played a more
important part in the struggle in the colony than any man
who had no troops at his command. He seems to have
slipped mysteriously on the scene at the beginning of the
war. He fought bravely, even fiercely, to the end; and 10
then, having nothing else to do, slipped away as mysteriously
as he came.
Curious as we may be to know something of the personal
history of Robert Sallette, it is not to be found chronicled
in the books. The French twist to his name makes it 15
probable that he was a descendant of those unfortunate
Acadians who, years before, had been stripped of their
lands and possessions in Nova Scotia by the British, their
houses and barns burned, and they themselves transported
away from their homes. They were scattered at various 20
points along the American coast. Some were landed at
Philadelphia, and some were carried to Louisiana. Four
hundred were sent to Georgia. The British had many acts
of cruelty to answer for in those days, but none more infamous
than this treatment of the gentle and helpless 5
Acadians. It stands in history to-day a stain upon the
British name.
Another fact that leads to the belief that Robert Sallette
was a descendant of the unfortunate Acadians was the
ferocity with which he pursued the British and the Tories. 10
The little that is told about him makes it certain that he
never gave quarter to the enemies of his country.
His name was a terror to the Tories. One of them, a
man of considerable means, offered a reward of one hundred
guineas to any person who would bring him the head of 15
Robert Sallette. The Tory had never seen Sallette, but
his alarm was such that he offered a reward large enough
to tempt some one to assassinate the daring partisan.
When Sallette heard of the reward, he disguised himself
as a farmer, and provided himself with a pumpkin, which 20
he placed in a bag. With the bag swinging across his
shoulder, he made his way to the house of the Tory. He
was invited in, and deposited the bag on the floor beside
him, the pumpkin striking the boards with a thump.
"I have brought you the head of Robert Sallette," said 25
he. "I hear that you have offered a reward of one hundred
guineas for it."
"Where is it?" asked the Tory.
"I have it with me," replied Sallette, shaking the loose
end of the bag. "Count out the money and take the head." 30
The Tory, neither doubting nor suspecting, counted out
the money and placed it on the table.
"Now show me the head," said he.
Sallette removed his hat, tapped himself on the forehead,
and said, "Here is the head of Robert Sallette!"
The Tory was so frightened that he jumped from the
room, and Sallette pocketed the money and departed. 5
1. Who was Sallette? What guess does the author
make as to his nationality? Why?
2. Relate the incident told.
3. Explain the meaning of: Tory, Acadians,
chronicled, "never gave quarter," assassinate,
partisan.
4. Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) was born, and
spent most of his life, in Georgia. For many years
he was editor of _The Atlanta Constitution_. You
are doubtless acquainted with his charming Uncle
Remus stories.
SONG OF THE PIONEERS
BY W. D. GALLAGHER
A song for the early times out West,
And our green old forest home,
Whose pleasant memories freshly yet
Across the bosom come;
A song for the free and gladsome life, 5
In those early days we led,
With a teeming soil beneath our feet,
And a smiling heaven o'erhead!
Oh, the waves of life danced merrily,
And had a joyous flow, 10
In the days when we were pioneers,
Seventy years ago!
The hunt, the shot, the glorious chase,
The captured elk or deer;
The camp, the big, bright fire, and then
The rich and wholesome cheer:
The sweet, sound sleep, at dead of night, 5
By our camp fire, blazing high,
Unbroken by the wolf's long howl,
And the panther springing by.
Oh, merrily passed the time, despite
Our wily Indian foe, 10
In the days when we were pioneers,
Seventy years ago!
Our forest life was rough and rude,
And dangers closed us round;
But here, amid the green old trees, 15
Freedom was sought and found.
Oft through our dwellings wintry blasts
Would rush with shriek and moan;
We cared not--though they were but frail,
We felt they were our own! 20
Oh, free and manly lives we led,
'Mid verdure or 'mid snow,
In the days when we were pioneers,
Seventy years ago!
1. In your own community how many years past are
the days of pioneering?
2. What pleasant things about pioneer life does the
author recall?
3. Imagine that you are a pioneer man or woman.
Tell what one day of your life is like.
_SPECIAL DAYS_
_There come days in the lives of men, of nations,
of races, and in the life of civilization itself
which are of such conspicuous importance that they
are set apart from the ordinary run of days and the
events they stand for are duly remembered each
recurring year on the proper date. Birthdays,
religious feast days, days of battle--many are the
occasions commemorated. The value to us of such
special days is in their observance--that we
dedicate ourselves to the spirit they perpetuate._
[Illustration: WASHINGTON'S GREATEST BATTLE
(_See page 116_)]
COLUMBUS AND THE ECLIPSE
BY JAMES JOHONNOT
This incident is related to show, first, something
of the character of Columbus, and, second, the
superstitions of the Indians. Read it to determine
what the author wished to bring out about Columbus.
Was Columbus justified in deceiving the Indians?
When Columbus first landed upon the shores of the
New World, and for a long time after, the natives
thought that he had come down from heaven, and they
were ready to do anything for this new friend. But at
one place, where he stayed for some months, the chiefs 5
became jealous of him and tried to drive him away. It had
been their custom to bring food for him and his companions
every morning, but now the amount they brought was very
small, and Columbus saw that he would soon be starved
unless he could make a change. 10
Now Columbus knew that in a few days there was to be
an eclipse of the sun; so he called the chiefs around him
and told them that the Great Spirit was angry with them
for not doing as they agreed in bringing him provisions, and
that to show his anger, on such a day, he would cause the 15
sun to be darkened. The Indians listened, but they did
not believe Columbus and there was a still greater falling
off in the amount of the food sent in.
On the morning of the day set, the sun rose clear and
bright, and the Indians shook their heads as they thought 20
how Columbus had tried to deceive them. Hour after
hour passed and still the sun was bright, and the Spanish
began to fear that the Indians would attack them soon, as
they seemed fully convinced that Columbus had deceived
them. But at length a black shadow began to steal over
the face of the sun. Little by little the light faded and
darkness spread over the land. 5
The Indians saw that Columbus had told them the truth.
They saw that they had offended the Great Spirit and that
he had sent a dreadful monster to swallow the sun. They
could see the jaws of this horrible monster slowly closing
to shut off their light forever. Frantic with fear, they filled 10
the air with cries and shrieks. Some fell prostrate before
Columbus and entreated his help; some rushed off and
soon returned laden with every kind of provisions they could
lay their hands on. Columbus then retired to his tent and
promised to save them if possible. About the time for the 15
eclipse to pass away, he came out and told them that the
Great Spirit had pardoned them this time and he would soon
drive away the monster from the sun; but they must never
offend in that way again.
The Indians promised, and waited. As the sun began 20
to come out from the shadow their fears subsided, and
when it shone clear once more, their joy knew no bounds.
They leaped, they danced, and they sang. They thought
Columbus was a god, and while he remained on the island
the Spaniards had all the provisions they needed. 25
--_Stories of Heroic Deeds._
FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY PROCLAMATION
BY GEORGE WASHINGTON, 1789
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday,
the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by
the people of these states to the service of that great and
glorious Being, who is the beneficent author of all the good
that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all 5
unite in the rendering unto Him our sincere and humble
thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of
this country previous to their becoming a nation--for the
single and manifold mercies, and for the favorable interpellation
of His providence, in the course and conclusion of 10
the late war.
1. This old document comes down to us with a fine
message of inspiration from the past and from its
great author. Explain the reference in line 8; in
lines 10 and 11. Compare this proclamation with the
President's proclamation for the current year.
THANKSGIVING DAY PROCLAMATION, 1905
BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT
When, nearly three centuries ago, the first settlers
came to the country which has now become this
great republic, they fronted not only hardship and privation,
but terrible risk to their lives. In those grim years the
custom grew of setting apart one day in each year for a 5
special service of thanksgiving to the Almighty for preserving
the people through the changing seasons. The
custom has now become national and hallowed by immemorial
usage. We live in easier and more plentiful
times than our forefathers, the men who with rugged
strength faced the rugged days; and yet the dangers to
national life are quite as great now as at any previous time 5
in our history. It is eminently fitting that once a year our
people should set apart a day for praise and thanksgiving
to the Giver of Good, and, at the same time that they
express their thankfulness for the abundant mercies received,
should manfully acknowledge their shortcomings 10
and pledge themselves solemnly and in good faith to strive
to overcome them. During the past year we have been
blessed with plentiful crops. Our business prosperity has
been great. No other people has ever stood on as high a
level of material well-being as ours now stands. We are 15
not threatened by foes from without. The foes from whom
we should pray to be delivered are our own passions, appetites,
and follies; and against these there is always need
that we should war.
Therefore, I now set apart Thursday, the thirtieth day 20
of this November, as a day of thanksgiving for the past and
of prayer for the future, and on that day I ask that throughout
the land the people gather in their homes and places of
worship, and in rendering thanks unto the Most High for
the manifold blessings of the past year, consecrate themselves 25
to a life of cleanliness, honor, and wisdom, so that
this nation may do its allotted work on the earth in a
manner worthy of those who founded it and of those who
preserved it.
1. Keep a lookout for the current Thanksgiving Day
proclamation of the President. Read it with those
of Washington and Roosevelt, and contrast the
three, as to style of writing and historical facts
mentioned.
HARVEST SONG
BY JAMES MONTGOMERY
The God of harvest praise;
In loud thanksgiving raise
Hand, heart, and voice.
The valleys laugh and sing,
Forests and mountains ring, 5
The plains their tribute bring,
The streams rejoice.
Yes, bless His holy name,
And joyous thanks proclaim
Through all the earth. 10
To glory in your lot
Is comely; but be not
God's benefits forgot
Amid your mirth.
The God of harvest praise; 15
Hands, hearts, and voices raise,
With sweet accord.
From field to garner throng,
Bearing your sheaves along,
And in your harvest song 20
Bless ye the Lord.
1. Sing these three stanzas to the tune of
_America_.
2. Explain lines 11-14; 18.
3. Search for a Thanksgiving story in current
newspapers and magazines or in books. Read it and
report on your story in class.
THE CRATCHITS' CHRISTMAS
BY CHARLES DICKENS
Old Scrooge was a rich and grasping business man;
Bob Cratchit was his underpaid and overworked
clerk. On Christmas Eve three spirits in succession
appeared to Scrooge: Christmas Past, Christmas
Present, and Christmas Yet-to-Come. The second
showed him, with other visions, this Christmas
feast in Cratchit's home. The lessons the spirits
taught him so influenced Scrooge that he set out
early next morning to spend a real Christmas; and
he was a changed man ever after.
Then up rose Mrs. Cratchit, Cratchit's wife, dressed
out but poorly in a twice-turned gown, but brave
in ribbons, which are cheap and make a goodly show for
sixpence; and she laid the cloth, assisted by Belinda
Cratchit, second of her daughters, also brave in ribbons; 5
while Master Peter Cratchit plunged a fork into the saucepan
of potatoes, and getting the corners of his monstrous
shirt collar (Bob's private property, conferred upon his
son and heir in honor of the day) into his mouth, rejoiced
to find himself so gallantly attired and yearned to show his 10
linen in the fashionable parks. And now two smaller
Cratchits, boy and girl, came tearing in, screaming that
outside the baker's they had smelt the goose and known it
for their own; and basking in luxurious thoughts of sage
and onion these young Cratchits danced about the table 15
and exalted Master Peter Cratchit to the skies, while he
(not proud, although his collars nearly choked him) blew
the fire until the slow potatoes, bubbling up, knocked loudly
at the saucepan lid to be let out and peeled.
"What has ever got your precious father, then?" said
Mrs. Cratchit. "And your brother, Tiny Tim! And
Martha warn't as late last Christmas Day by half an
hour!"
"Here's Martha, mother," said a girl, appearing as she 5
spoke.
"Here's Martha, mother!" cried the two young
Cratchits. "Hurrah! There's such a goose, Martha!"
"Why, bless your heart alive, my dear, how late you
are!" said Mrs. Cratchit, kissing her a dozen times and 10
taking off her shawl and bonnet for her with officious zeal.
"We'd a deal of work to finish up last night," replied
the girl, "and had to clear away this morning, mother!"
"Well! never mind so long as you are come," said Mrs.
Cratchit. "Sit ye down before the fire, my dear, and have 15
a warm, Lord bless ye!"
"No, no! There's father coming," cried the two young
Cratchits, who were everywhere at once. "Hide, Martha,
hide!"
So Martha hid herself, and in came little Bob, the father, 20
with at least three feet of comforter, exclusive of the fringe,
hanging down before him; and his threadbare clothes
darned up and brushed, to look seasonable; and Tiny Tim
upon his shoulder. Alas for Tiny Tim, he bore a little
crutch and had his limbs supported by an iron frame! 25
"Why, where's our Martha?" cried Bob Cratchit, looking
round.
"Not coming," said Mrs. Cratchit.
"Not coming!" said Bob, with a sudden declension in
his high spirits; for he had been Tim's blood horse all the 30
way from church and had come home rampant. "Not
coming upon Christmas Day!"
Martha didn't like to see him disappointed, if it were
only a joke; so she came out prematurely from behind the
closet door and ran into his arms, while the two young
Cratchits hustled Tiny Tim and bore him off into the
washhouse, that he might hear the pudding singing in the 5
copper.
"And how did little Tim behave?" asked Mrs. Cratchit,
when she had rallied Bob on his credulity and Bob had
hugged his daughter to his heart's content.
"As good as gold," said Bob, "and better. Somehow he 10
gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks
the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming
home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church,
because he was a cripple and it might be pleasant to them
to remember, upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars 15
walk and blind men see."
Bob's voice was tremulous when he told them this, and
trembled more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing
strong and hearty.
His active little crutch was heard upon the floor and 20
back came Tiny Tim before another word was spoken,
escorted by his brother and sister to his stool beside the
fire; and while Bob, turning up his cuffs--as if, poor
fellow, they were capable of being made more shabby--compounded
some hot mixture in a jug with gin and lemons 25
and stirred it round and round and put it on the hob to
simmer, Master Peter and the two ubiquitous young
Cratchits went to fetch the goose, with which they soon
returned in high procession.
Such a bustle ensued that you might have thought a 30
goose the rarest of all birds; a feathered phenomenon, to
which a black swan was a matter of course--and in truth
it was something very like it, in that house. Mrs. Cratchit
made the gravy (ready beforehand in a little saucepan)
hissing hot; Master Peter mashed the potatoes with incredible
vigor; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple sauce;
Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside 5
him in a tiny corner at the table; the two young Cratchits
set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and
mounting guard upon their posts, crammed spoons into
their mouths lest they should shriek for goose before their
turn came to be helped. At last the dishes were set on 10
and grace was said. It was succeeded by a breathless
pause, as Mrs. Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving
knife, prepared to plunge it in the breast; but when she
did, and when the long-expected gush of stuffing issued
forth, one murmur of delight arose all round the board, 15
and even Tiny Tim, excited by the two young Cratchits,
beat on the table with the handle of his knife and feebly
cried, "Hurrah!"
There never was such a goose cooked. Its tenderness
and flavor, size and cheapness, were the themes of universal 20
admiration. Eked out by apple sauce and mashed potatoes,
it was a sufficient dinner for the whole family;
indeed, as Mrs. Cratchit said with great delight (surveying
one small atom of a bone upon the dish), they hadn't eaten
it all at last! Yet everyone had had enough, and the 25
youngest Cratchits, in particular, were steeped in sage and
onion to the eyebrows! But now the plates being changed
by Miss Belinda, Mrs. Cratchit left the room alone--too
nervous to bear witnesses--to take the pudding up, and
bring it in. 30
Suppose it should not be done enough! Suppose it
should break in turning out! Suppose somebody should
have got over the wall of the back yard and stolen it, while
they were merry with the goose--a supposition at which
the two young Cratchits became livid! All sorts of horrors
were supposed.
Halloo! A great deal of steam! The pudding was out 5
of the copper. A smell like a washing day! That was the
cloth. A smell like an eating house and a pastry cook's
next door to each other, with a laundress's next door to
that! That was the pudding! In half a minute Mrs.
Cratchit entered--flushed, but smiling proudly--with 10
the pudding, like a speckled cannon ball, so hard and
firm, blazing in half of half a quartern of ignited brandy
and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.
Oh, a wonderful pudding! Bob Cratchit said, and
calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success 15
achieved by Mrs. Cratchit since their marriage. Mrs.
Cratchit said that now the weight was off her mind, she
would confess she had had her doubts about the quantity
of flour. Everybody had something to say about it, but
nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for 20
a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so.
Any Cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing.
At last the dinner was all done, the cloth was cleared, the
hearth swept, and the fire made up. The compound in the
jug being tasted and considered perfect, apples and oranges 25
were put upon the table and a shovelful of chestnuts on the
fire. Then all the Cratchit family drew round the hearth
in what Bob Cratchit called a circle, meaning half a one;
and at Bob Cratchit's elbow stood the family display of
glass--two tumblers and a custard cup without a handle. 30
These held the hot stuff from the jug, however, as well as
golden goblets would have done; and Bob served it out
with beaming looks, while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered
and cracked noisily. Then Bob proposed:
"A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!"
Which all the family reëchoed.
"God bless us every one!" said Tiny Tim, the last of all. 5
--_A Christmas Carol._
1. A few days before Christmas you should read
Dickens's _A Christmas Carol_. It is one of the
best, if not the best, Christmas story ever
written. How does Dickens make you feel while you
read this selection? How many people are present at
the Cratchits'? To whom does your sympathy go?
2. Select a list of words and phrases that suggest
happiness. How does Dickens make you wish you were
at the Cratchit feast?
3. Appoint a committee of three from your class to
report fully on Dickens's life and writings. Take
brief notes on their report.
THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
BY ÉMILE SOUVESTRE
Twelve o'clock.--A knock at my door; a poor
girl comes in and greets me by name. At first I
do not recall her, but she looks at me and smiles. Ah, it is
Paulette! But it is nearly a year since I have seen her,
and Paulette is no longer the same; the other day she was 5
a child; to-day she is almost a young woman.
Paulette is thin, pale, and miserably clad; but she has
always the same open and straightforward look--the same
mouth, smiling at every word as if to plead for sympathy--the
same voice, timid yet caressing. Paulette is not 10
pretty--she is even thought plain; as for me, I think her
charming. Perhaps that is not on her account but on my
own. Paulette is a part of one of my happiest recollections.
It was the evening of a public holiday. Our principal
buildings were lighted with festoons of fire, a thousand
flags floated in the night wind, and the fireworks had just
shot forth their jets of flame in the midst of the _Champ de
Mars_. Suddenly one of those unaccountable panics which 5
seize a multitude falls upon the dense crowd; they cry out,
they rush on headlong; the weaker ones fall and the
frightened crowd tramples them down in its convulsive
struggles. Escaping from the confusion by a miracle, I
was hastening away when the cries of a perishing child 10
arrested me; I went back into that human chaos and
after unheard-of exertions I brought Paulette away at the
peril of my life.
That was two years ago; since then I had seen the child
only at long intervals and had almost forgotten her; but 15
Paulette had a grateful heart, and she came at the beginning
of the year to bring me her good wishes. She brought
me, too, a wallflower in full bloom; she herself had planted
and reared it; it was something that belonged wholly to
herself, for it was because of her care, her perseverance, 20
and her patience that it was hers.
The wallflower had grown in a common pot; but Paulette,
who is a bandbox maker, had put it into a case of
varnished paper ornamented with arabesques. These
might have been in better taste, but I felt the good will 25
none the less.
This unexpected present, the little girl's modest blushes,
the compliments she stammered out, dispelled, as by a
sunbeam, the mist which had gathered round my heart;
my thoughts suddenly changed from the leaden tints of 30
evening to the rosiest colors of dawn. I made Paulette
sit down and questioned her with a light heart.
At first the little girl replied by monosyllables; but
very soon the tables were turned and it was I who interrupted
with short interjections her long confidences. The
poor child leads a hard life. She was left an orphan long
ago and with a brother and sister lives with an old grandmother, 5
who has _brought them up to poverty_, as she says.
However Paulette now helps her to make bandboxes, her
little sister Perrine begins to sew, and her brother Henri
is apprenticed to a printer. All would go well if it were not
for losses and want of work--if it were not for clothes which 10
wear out, for appetites which grow larger, and for the
winter, when you must buy your sunshine. Paulette complains
that candles go too quickly and that the wood costs
too much. The fireplace in their garret is so large that a
fagot produces no more effect than a match; it is so near 15
the roof that the wind blows down the rain and in winter
it hails upon the hearth; so they have given up using it.
Henceforth they must be content with an earthen chafing
dish, upon which they cook their meals. The grandmother
had often spoken of a stove that was for sale at the huckster's 20
on the ground floor, but he asked seven francs for it
and the times are too hard for such an expense; the family,
therefore, resign themselves to cold for economy's sake!
As Paulette spoke I felt more and more that I was rising
above my low spirits. The first disclosures of the little 25
bandbox maker created within me a wish that soon became
a plan. I questioned her about her daily occupations and
she told me that on leaving me she must go with her brother,
her sister, and her grandmother, to the different people for
whom they work. My plan was immediately settled. I 30
told the child that I would go to see her in the evening,
and I sent her away, thanking her anew.
I placed the wallflower in the open window, where a ray
of sunshine bade it welcome; the birds were singing around,
the sky had cleared, and the day which began so gloomily
had become bright. I sang as I moved about my room,
and having hastily got ready I went out. 5
Three o'clock.--All is settled with my neighbor, the
chimney doctor; he will repair my old stove, the old stove
which I had replaced, and promises to make it as good as
new. At five o'clock we are going to put it up in Paulette's
grandmother's room. 10
Midnight.--All has gone well. At the hour agreed
upon I was at the old bandbox maker's; she was still out.
My Piedmontese fixed the stove, while I arranged in the
great fireplace a dozen logs borrowed from my winter's
stock. I shall make up for them by warming myself with 15
walking or by going to bed earlier.
My heart beat at every step which was heard on the
staircase; I trembled lest they should interrupt me in my
preparations and should thus spoil my intended surprise.
But no--everything is ready; the lighted stove murmurs 20
gently, the little lamp burns upon the table, and a bottle
of oil for it is provided on the shelf. The chimney doctor
is gone. Now my fear lest they should come is changed
into impatience at their delay. At last I hear children's
voices; here they are! They push open the door and 25
rush in--but they stop with cries of astonishment.
At sight of the lamp, the stove, and the visitor who
stands there like a magician in the midst of these wonders,
they draw back almost frightened. Paulette is the first to
understand, and the arrival of the grandmother, mounting 30
the stairs more slowly, finishes the explanation. Then come
tears, ecstasies, thanks!
Surprises are not over yet. The little sister opens the
oven and discovers some chestnuts just roasted; the
grandmother puts her hand on the bottles of cider arranged
on the dresser; and I draw forth from the basket that I
have hidden, a cold tongue, a wedge-shaped piece of butter, 5
and some fresh rolls.
Now their wonder turns into admiration; the little family
have never taken part in such a feast! They lay the cloth,
they sit down, they eat; it is a perfect festival for all, and
each contributes his share. I had brought only the supper; 10
the bandbox maker and the children supplied the enjoyment.
What bursts of laughter at nothing! What a hubbub of
questions which waited for no reply, of replies which answered
no question! The old woman herself shared in the
wild merriment of the little ones! I have always wondered 15
at the ease with which the poor forget their wretchedness.
Accustomed to live in the present, they use every pleasure
as soon as it offers itself. But the rich, blunted by luxury,
gain happiness less easily. They must have all things in
harmony before they consent to be happy. 20
The evening passed like a moment. The old woman has
told me the story of her life, sometimes smiling, sometimes
crying. Perrine has sung an old ballad with her
fresh young voice. Henri has told us what he knows of
the great writers of the day, whose proofs he has to carry. 25
At last we were obliged to separate, not without new
thanks on the part of the happy family.
I have come home slowly, with a full heart, thinking
over the pure memories of this evening. It has given me
comfort and much instruction. Now the years can come 30
and go. I know that no one is so unhappy as to have
nothing to receive and nothing to give.
As I came in I met my rich neighbor's new equipage.
She too had just returned from her evening party; and as
she sprang from the carriage step with feverish impatience,
I heard her murmur, "_At last!_"
I, when I left Paulette's family, said, "_So soon!_" 5
1. Is this a Christmas story? Give reasons for your
answer. Is its title fitting? What in the story
itself suggests the time of year? Where do the
events take place? Contrast this story with "The
Cratchits' Christmas," preceding, as to (_a_) kind
of people; (_b_) place; (_c_) the chief actor;
(_d_) the feast itself; (_e_) the manner of
telling.
2. Describe Paulette's family. How did they make a
living? How had the author become acquainted with
Paulette?
3. Émile Souvestre (soo ves tr´) was a French
novelist and dramatist (1806-1854). His chief works
deal with his native Brittany, but his last book
has in it charming studies of Paris life.
CHRISTMAS IN THE PINES
BY MEREDITH NICHOLSON
Here is a Christmas story of the northland, in
which cities give way to pine woods, and people to
silences and snow. Get the picture each stanza
portrays as you read through the poem, and make a
mental comparison with snow scenes with which you
are familiar.
The sky was clear all yesterday,
From dawn until the sunset's flame;
But when the red had grown to gray,
Out of the west the snow clouds came.
At midnight by the dying fire, 5
Watching the spruce boughs glow and pale,
I heard outside a tumult dire,
And the fierce roaring of the gale.
Now with the morning comes a lull;
The sun shines boldly in the east
Upon a world made beautiful
In vesture for the Christmas feast.
Into the pathless waste I go, 5
With muffled step among the pines
That, robed in sunlight and soft snow,
Stand like a thousand radiant shrines.
Save for a lad's song, far and faint,
There is no sound in all the wood; 10
The murmuring pines are still; their plaint
At last was heard and understood.
Here floats no chime of Christmas bell,
There is no voice to give me cheer;
But through the pine wood all is well, 15
For God and love and peace are here.
1. What does each of the first three stanzas
portray? The last three stanzas describe the sights
and sounds as seen by whom?
2. Explain what pictures these phrases make for
you: "sunset's flame"; "spruce boughs glow and
pale"; "tumult dire"; "beautiful In vesture";
"muffled step"; "radiant shrines." Read lines 11
and 12, putting the thought in your own words.
3. Make a Christmas card, sketching one of the
scenes suggested above as the corner or center
decoration.
4. Meredith Nicholson (1866- ) is an American
writer. He is the author of several popular novels,
an essayist, and a writer of excellent verse. He
lives in Indianapolis.
("Christmas in the Pines" is used by special
courtesy of Mr. Nicholson.)
THE NEW YEAR'S DINNER PARTY
BY CHARLES LAMB
The following essay is a humorous treatment of the
days of the year, with emphasis on the holidays and
special days in the English calendar. You should
read it with a sharp lookout for the play on words.
Each day supposedly acts in keeping with its
character, and so the New Year's dinner party is
kept in high mirth. But you cannot appreciate the
humor until you understand what each day stands
for.
The Old Year being dead, the New Year came of age,
which he does by Calendar Law as soon as the breath
is out of the old gentleman's body. Nothing would serve
the youth but he must give a dinner upon the occasion, to
which all the Days of the Year were invited. 5
The Festivals, whom he appointed as his stewards, were
mightily taken with the notion. They had been engaged
time out of mind, they said, in providing mirth and cheer
for mortals below; and it was time that they should have
a taste of their bounty. 10
All the Days came to dinner. Covers were provided for
three hundred and sixty-five guests at the principal table,
with an occasional knife and fork at the sideboard for the
Twenty-ninth of February.
I should have told you that invitations had been sent out. 15
The carriers were the Hours--twelve as merry little whirligig
foot pages as you should desire to see. They went all
around, and found out the persons invited well enough,
with the exception of Easter Day, Shrove Tuesday, and a
few such Movables, who had lately shifted their quarters. 20
Well, they were all met at last, four Days, five Days, all
sorts of Days, and a rare din they made of it. There was
nothing but "Hail! fellow Day!" "Well met, brother
Day! sister Day!"--only Lady Day kept a little on the
aloof and seemed somewhat scornful. Yet some said that 5
Twelfth Day cut her out, for she came in a silk suit, white
and gold, like a queen on a frost cake, all royal and
glittering.
The rest came, some in green, some in white--but Lent
and his family were not yet out of mourning. Rainy Days 10
came in dripping, and Sunshiny Days helped them to
change their stockings. Wedding Day was there in his
marriage finery. Pay Day came late, as he always does.
Doomsday sent word he might be expected.
April Fool (as my lord's jester) took upon himself to 15
marshal the guests. And wild work he made of it; good
Days, bad Days, all were shuffled together. He had stuck
the Twenty-first of June next to the Twenty-second of
December, and the former looked like a maypole by the side
of a marrowbone. Ash Wednesday got wedged in betwixt 20
Christmas and Lord Mayor's Day.
At another part of the table, Shrove Tuesday was helping
the Second of September to some broth, which courtesy
the latter returned with the delicate thigh of a pheasant.
The Last of Lent was springing upon Shrovetide's pancakes; 25
April Fool, seeing this, told him that he did well, for pancakes
were proper to a good fry-day.
May Day, with that sweetness which is her own, made a
neat speech proposing the health of the founder. This
being done, the lordly New Year from the upper end of 30
the table, in a cordial but somewhat lofty tone, returned
thanks.
They next fell to quibbles and conundrums. The question
being proposed, who had the greatest number of followers--the
Quarter Days said there could be no question
as to that; for they had all the creditors in the world
dogging their heels. But April Fool gave it in favor of the 5
Forty Days before Easter; because the debtors in all cases
outnumbered the creditors, and they kept Lent all the year.
At last, dinner being ended, all the Days called for
their cloaks and greatcoats, and took their leaves. Lord
Mayor's Day went off in a Mist, as usual; Shortest Day 10
in a deep black Fog, which wrapped the little gentleman
all round like a hedgehog.
Two Vigils, or watchmen, saw Christmas Day safe home.
Another Vigil--a stout, sturdy patrol, called the Eve of
St. Christopher--escorted Ash Wednesday. 15
Longest Day set off westward in beautiful crimson and
gold--the rest, some in one fashion some in another, took
their departure.
--_Last Essays of Elia._
1. Lord Mayor's Day falls on November 9. Explain
the reference to Mist. Quarter Day is the day
usually looked upon as the day rent falls due. Why
did April Fool decide against the Quarter Days in
behalf of the Forty Days before Easter? The Second
of September is the beginning of the open season
for shooting. Explain the reference to "pheasant."
2. How many were at this feast? Why did the
Festivals come? Why have only twelve carriers, in
the fourth paragraph? Explain how April Fool added
to the merriment in seating the guests. What pun
did April Fool make?
3. What American holidays would you add if you were
writing this essay? How could you make them fit in
humorously?
4. Charles Lamb (1775-1834), English essayist, is
noted for his humorous sketches. You should read
his "Dissertation on Roast Pig" With his sister
Mary, he wrote _Tales from Shakespeare_, which you
will enjoy reading.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
(WRITTEN FOR JESSE W. FELL, December 20, 1859)
Abraham Lincoln enjoyed telling stories of his
youth and early manhood, but he wrote very little
about himself. The following is the longest
statement he has set down anywhere about his own
life. And he did this only at the earnest request
of a fellow citizen in Illinois, Mr. Fell. You
should read this brief autobiography with two
things in mind: the facts of Lincoln's life, and
the simplicity and modesty of the statement of
these facts.
I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky.
My parents were both born in Virginia, of
undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I
should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was
of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside 5
in Adams, and others in Macon County, Illinois. My
paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from
Rockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky about 1781
or 1782, where a year or two later he was killed by the
Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring 10
to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were
Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania.
An effort to identify them with the New England
family of the same name ended in nothing more definite
than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such 15
as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like.
My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of
age, and he grew up literally without education. He removed
from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County,
Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home
about the time the state came into the Union. It was a
wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still
in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools,
so called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher 5
beyond "readin', writin', and cipherin'" to the rule of three.
If a straggler supposed to understand Latin happened to
sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a
wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition
for education. Of course, when I came of age I did not 10
know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and
cipher to the rule of three, but that was all. I have not
been to school since. The little advance I now have upon
this store of education I have picked up from time to time
under the pressure of necessity. 15
I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was
twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, Macon
County. Then I got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon,
now in Menard County, where I remained a year as a
sort of clerk in a store. 20
Then came the Black Hawk war, and I was elected a captain
of volunteers, a success which gave me more pleasure
than any I have had since. I went the campaign, was
elated, ran for the legislature the same year (1832), and was
beaten--the only time I have ever been beaten by the 25
people. The next and three succeeding biennial elections
I was elected to the legislature. I was not a candidate
afterward. During this legislative period I had studied
law, and removed to Springfield to practice it. In 1846 I
was once elected to the lower house of Congress. Was 30
not a candidate for reëlection. From 1849 to 1854, both
inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before.
Always Whig in politics; and generally on the Whig
electoral tickets, making active canvasses. I was losing
interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise
aroused me again. What I have done since then
is pretty well known. 5
If any personal description of me is thought desirable,
it may be said I am, in height, six feet four inches, nearly;
lean in flesh, weighing on an average one hundred and
eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair
and gray eyes. No other marks or brands recollected. 10
1. Outline Lincoln's life, ancestry, etc., as here
presented, under the proper heads. Test your
outline by trying to group all the facts under
their proper headings. This will require careful
re-reading of the selection.
2. Next take one of your topics and practice
_thinking_ of the items you have included under it.
Be ready to speak on any one of your topics at
class recitation.
3. What major events of Lincoln's life are omitted
from this document? Why? (To answer this, refer to
your history for the dates of Lincoln's presidency;
compare with the date when this was written.)
4. Is there anything in the article that sounds the
least boastful? Explain lines 25-26 in this
connection.
5. Who were the Whigs? What was the Missouri
Compromise?
6. One sentence in this suggests the sly humor of
Lincoln. Find it.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN
BY WALT WHITMAN
The Civil War between the North and the South
lasted from 1861-1865. Abraham Lincoln was
President of the United States at the time, and it
was largely due to his wisdom that the great
conflict lasted no longer. The Northern armies were
generally victorious in the winter and spring of
1865. The nation, however, was suddenly bowed in
grief. The President was shot by an assassin on
April 14, and died next day.
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) at the time was employed
in a clerical position in the War Department, and,
outside office hours, in nursing wounded soldiers
in Washington. He often saw Lincoln, who passed
Whitman's house almost every day. The "Good Gray
Poet" and the President had a bowing acquaintance;
and in one of his books Whitman refers to the
dark-brown face, deep-cut lines, and sad eyes of
Lincoln. Whitman gave expression to his grief at
the country's loss in the following poem, in which
he refers to the martyred President as the captain
of the Ship of State.
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we
sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and 5
daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead. 10
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle
trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths--for you the
shores a-crowding. 5
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces
turning.
Here, Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck 10
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and
done, 15
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead. 20
--_Drum Taps._
1. Explain the references to the safe arrival of
the ship in port, the ringing of the bells, and the
general exultation.
2. Re-read the poem carefully. Picture to yourself
what each stanza contributes as you read. When you
have finished, test yourself to see how much of it
you can recall exactly. Complete the memorization
by this same process of careful re-reading.
3. Whitman had his volume, _Drum Taps_, practically
completed when Lincoln's assassination occurred. He
held up its publication to include "O Captain! My
Captain" and another poem on the death of Lincoln,
called "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed."
Why is the title of the latter poem appropriate?
WASHINGTON'S GREATEST BATTLE
BY FREDERICK TREVOR HILL
By 1781 the French were coöperating with our
colonial troops against the armies and navies of
the British. Lafayette was in the South helping
Greene worry Cornwallis. Rochambeau was working
with Washington near New York, to keep Clinton from
uniting his forces with those of Cornwallis. De
Grasse, in charge of the French fleet, was planning
a blow at the British squadron. The stage was thus
set for a great military stroke--and Washington
readily took up the cue.
Word was received from Lafayette that Cornwallis
had moved to Yorktown on the York River, Virginia,
close to Chesapeake Bay, and almost at the same
moment the long-expected dispatch arrived from de Grasse,
advising Washington that he was just on the point of 5
sailing for Chesapeake Bay. The instant he received this
news the American commander realized that his chance had
come. Cornwallis had evidently brought his army to
Yorktown that it might coöperate with a British fleet in
the Chesapeake, and by good luck de Grasse was heading 10
directly for this very spot. A bold, swift stroke might now
end the war, and the plan which Washington immediately
put in operation was daring to a really perilous degree.
Up to this point all the movements of the French and
Americans had convinced Clinton that an attack would 15
soon be made against New York. Never for a moment did
he imagine that his opponent would dare leave the Hudson
unguarded and throw his whole army against Cornwallis.
The risk of losing West Point and the difficulty of covering
the hundreds of miles that lay between New York and Yorktown
seemed to forbid any such maneuver. Nevertheless,
this was precisely what Washington intended to do, and
within a few days after the receipt of de Grasse's message
he was hurrying southward with every man he could 5
possibly spare.
Secrecy and speed were essential to success, for if Clinton
discovered what was happening, he would undoubtedly
try to throw his army between Cornwallis and the Americans,
and even though he failed in stopping them he could 10
easily delay their march until the British force at Yorktown
had time to escape. Washington, therefore, took extraordinary
care to conceal his plans, not only from his foes
but also from his friends. Indeed, Rochambeau was the
only officer who knew where the men were being headed as 15
they hurried through New Jersey, and so cleverly was their
route selected that even when Clinton learned of their
march he still believed that the Americans, having failed
in the attempt on his rear door near King's Bridge, were
about to swing around and try to get in at the front door 20
from Staten Island or Sandy Hook.
This was just what Washington wanted him to think,
and to deceive him still further, camp kitchens were erected
along the expected line of march and the troops were so
handled that they seemed to be moving straight to an 25
attack on New York. But at the proper moment they were
suddenly turned southward at a pace that defied pursuit,
and before the true situation dawned on the British commander
they were almost at the Delaware River. But
though he had by this time acquired a fairly safe lead, 30
Washington did not slacken his speed, and with a roar of
cheers from the now excited populace, the dusty columns
were soon pouring through Philadelphia, the American
commander pushing on ahead to Chester, and sending back
word that de Grasse had arrived in Chesapeake Bay and
that not a moment must be lost.
Clinton then made a frantic effort to save the day by 5
sending Arnold to attack some of the New England towns,
thinking that the American commander might hurry back
to their rescue. But Washington was first and foremost a
man of good, hard common sense, and he knew that all
Arnold could accomplish would be the destruction of a few 10
defenseless towns, and to let Cornwallis escape in order to
protect them did not appeal to his practical mind at all.
He therefore paid no attention to the traitor's movements,
but bent all his efforts on speeding his army southward.
At Chesapeake Bay an exasperating delay occurred, for 15
there were not sufficient vessels to transport the army over
the water, and for a time the success of the whole expedition
was threatened. But Washington was in no mood to be
blocked by obstacles of this sort. If his troops could not
be ferried down the bay, they must march around it, and 20
march many of them did, their general obtaining the first
glimpse he had had in six years of his beloved Mount
Vernon as he swept by, and on September 28, 1781, his
whole force was in front of Yorktown, with success fairly
within its grasp. 25
Meanwhile de Grasse's fleet had fiercely assailed a British
squadron which had been sent to the rescue, and after a
sharp engagement the French had been able to return to
the bay while the British vessels were obliged to retire to
New York, leaving Cornwallis with the York River on one 30
side of him, the James River on the other, and the Chesapeake
Bay at his back, but no ships to carry him to safety.
Only one chance of escape now remained, and that was to
hurl his whole army through the narrow neck of land immediately
in front of him and beat a hasty retreat to the south.
But Washington had anticipated this desperate move by
positive instructions to Lafayette, and acting upon them the 5
young marquis rushed a body of French troops from the
fleet into the gap, and the arrival of the American army
completely blocked it.
But, though the enemy was now in his clutch, Washington
lost no time in tightening his hold, for de Grasse 10
declared that his orders would not allow him to tarry much
longer in the Chesapeake, and the failure of the other
attempts to work with the French warned him to take no
risks on this occasion.
He therefore instantly set the troops at work with pickaxes 15
and shovels throwing up intrenchments, behind which
they crept nearer and nearer the imprisoned garrison, and
he kept them at their tasks night and day, supervising
every detail of the siege and organizing the labor with such
method that not a second of time nor an ounce of strength 20
was wasted.
Finally, on October 14th--just sixteen days after the
combined armies had arrived on the scene--the commander
in chief determined to hurry matters still further
by carrying two of the enemy's outer works by assault, and 25
Hamilton was assigned to lead the Americans and Colonel
de Deuxponts the French. A brilliant charge followed,
and Washington and Rochambeau, closely watching the
movement, saw the Americans scale one of the redoubts
and capture it within ten minutes, while the French soon 30
followed with equal success. From these two commanding
positions a perfect storm of shot and shell was then loosed
against the British fortifications, but still Cornwallis
would not yield.
Indeed, he made an heroic attempt to break through the
lines on the following night, and actually succeeded in
spiking some of the French cannon before he was driven 5
back; and again on the next night he made a desperate
effort to escape by water, only to be foiled by a terrific
storm. By this time, however, his defenses were practically
battered to the ground and the town behind them was
tumbling to pieces beneath the fire of more than fifty guns. 10
In the face of this terrific bombardment further resistance
was useless, and at ten o'clock on the morning of October
17, 1781, exactly four years after the surrender of Burgoyne,
a red-coated drummer boy mounted on the crumbling
ramparts and beside him appeared an officer with a white 15
flag. Instantly the firing ceased, and an American officer
ap
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